General Layout of A Thermal Power Plant

General Layout of a Thermal Power Plant
Written by: Ricky Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher

Published Jan 22, 2009 Related Guides: Generating Electricity
The coal which you use in your backyard for barbeque performs much more important functions
such as generating electricity for us in thermal power plants. Learn about the layout of these plants
in this article.
Introduction
With the world on a development spree, there is shortage of power in most places whilst the demand
seems to be in a never ending upward spiral. There are several answers to this challenge such as
the nuclear power plants, but the conventional thermal power plants also play an equally important
role in this power equation. Learn about these power plants in this article.
General Layout of the Plant

Though each plant is unique in itself in terms of specific features and functionalities, still there is a
broad outline to which all thermal power plants confirm to and in this article we will study about the
general layout of a typical power plant.
There are four main circuits in any thermal power plant and these are
1. Coal & Ash Circuit this circuit deals mainly with feeding the boiler with coal for
combustion purposes and taking care of the ash that is generated during the combustion
process and includes equipment and paraphernalia that is used to handle the transfer and
storage of coal and ash.
2. Air & Gas Circuit we know that air is one of the main components of the fire triangle and
hence necessary for combustion. Since lots of coal is burnt inside the boiler it needs a
sufficient quantity of air which is supplied using either forced draught or induced draught
fans. The exhaust gases from the combustion are in turn used to heat the ingoing air
through a heat exchanger before being let off in the atmosphere. The equipment which
handles all these processes fall under this circuit.
3. Feed Water & Steam Circuit this section deals with supplying of steam generated from
the boiler to the turbines and to handle the outgoing steam from the turbine by cooling it to
form water in the condenser so that it can be reused in the boiler plus making good any
losses due to evaporation etc.
4. Cooling Water Circuit this part of the thermal power plant deals with handling of the
cooling water required in the system. Since the amount of water required to cool the
outgoing steam from the boiler is substantial, it is either taken from a nearby water source
such as a river, or it is done through evaporation if the quantity of cooling water available is
limited.
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The above breakdown of the plant would give you a clear idea about the components of the plant but
a complete picture shown below would be more useful in getting an idea how these circuits are
integrated together to form the complete power plant.
Coal Fired Thermal Power Plant: The Basic Steps and

Facts
Written by: johnzactruba Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher
Updated Sep 8, 2011 Related Guides: Carbon Dioxide | Steam | Electricity
This article explains the basics of the working of a coal fired thermal power plant.
More than half of the electricity generated in the world is by using coal as the primary fuel.
The function of the coal fired thermal power plant is to convert the energy available in the coal to
Electricity.
Coal power plants work by using several steps to convert stored energy in coal to usable electricity
that we find in our home that powers our lights, computers, and sometimes, back into heat for our
homes.
image provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority
How Coal Power Plants Produce Electricity

The conversion from coal to electricity takes place in three stages.
Stage 1
The first conversion of energy takes place in the boiler. Coal is burnt in the boiler furnace to produce
heat. Carbon in the coal and Oxygen in the air combine to produce Carbon Dioxide and heat.
Stage 2
The second stage is the thermodynamic process.
1. The heat from combustion of the coal boils water in the boiler to produce steam. In modern
power plant, boilers produce steam at a high pressure and temperature.
2. The steam is then piped to a turbine.
3. The high pressure steam impinges and expands across a number of sets of blades in the
turbine.
4. The impulse and the thrust created rotates the turbine.
5. The steam is then condensed and pumped back into the boiler to repeat the cycle.
Stage 3
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In the third stage, rotation of the turbine rotates the generator rotor to produce electricity based of
Faradays Principle of electromagnetic induction.
Check out this series describing the layout of thermal power plants.
Key Facts About Coal-Fired Electricity Production

In practice to effect these three stages of conversion, many systems and sub systems have to be in
service. Also involved are different technologies, like combustion, aerodynamics, heat transfer,
thermodynamics, pollution control, and logistics.
As an example consider these facts for typical coal fired power plant of capacity 500 MW.
Around 2 million tons of coal will be required each year to produce the continuous power.
Coal combustion in the boiler requires air. Around 1.6 million cubic meter of air in an hour is
delivered by air fans into the furnace.
The ash produced from this combustion is around 200,000 tons per year.
Electrostatic precipitators capture almost all of this ash without dispersing this to the
atmosphere.Pollutants from coal power plants like carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and
nitrogen oxide can also affect the environment. Thermal power plants are the biggest
producers of Carbon Dioxide.
The boiler for typical 500 MW units produces around 1600 tons per hour of steam at a
temperature of 540 to 600 degrees Centigrade. The steam pressures is in the range of 200
bar. The boiler materials are designed to withstand these conditions with special
consideration for operational safety.
Heat transfer from the hot combustion gases to the water in the boiler takes place due to
Radiation and convection.
The Electrical generators carry very large electric currents that produce heat and are be
cooled by Hydrogen and water.
The steam leaving the turbine is condensed and the water is pumped back for reuse in the
boiler. To condense all the steam it will require around 50,000 cubic meter per hour of
cooling water to be circulated from lakes, rivers or the sea. The water is returned to the
source with only an increase of 3 to 4 degrees centigrade to prevent any effect to the
environment.
Apart from the cooling water the power plant also requires around 400 cubic meter per day
of fresh water for making up the losses in the water steam cycle.
Details of Generating Electricity from Coal
These are some of the facts to highlight the complexities of the working of a Coal Fired Power Plant
generating Electricity.
For more details, discover how coal is blended to the right mix to maximize energy production or
learn about the specific caloric energies of coal and how moisture in the coal can affect a power
plant's efficiency. Also learn how the coal is prepared to be fired in the boiler.
How does a Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler Work ?

Updated Nov 24, 2009 Related Guides: Coal Fired Boilers
Circulating Fluidized Bed combustion has given boiler and power plant operators a greater flexibility
in burning a wide range of coal and other fuels. All this without compromising efficiency and with
reduced pollution. How does the boiler work with this technology?
In the olden days blacksmiths used to heat the iron by placing it on a bed of coal. Bellows provide air
to the coal from the bottom of the bed. Fluidized Bed combustion is something similar to this.
Fluidized Bed
At the bottom of the boiler furnace there is a bed of inert material. Bed is where the coal or fuel
spreads. Air supply is from under the bed at high pressure. This lifts the bed material and the coal
particles and keeps it in suspension. The coal combustion takes place in this suspended condition.
This is the Fluidized bed.
Special design of the air nozzles at the bottom of the bed allows air flow without clogging. Primary air
fans provide the preheated Fluidizing air. Secondary air fans provide pre-heated Combustion air.
Nozzles in the furnace walls at various levels distribute the Combustion air in the furnace.
Circulation
Fine particles of partly burned coal, ash and bed material are carried along with the flue gases to the
upper areas of the furnace and then into a cyclone. In the cyclone the heavier particles separate
from the gas and falls to the hopper of the cyclone. This returns to the furnace for recirculation.
Hence the name Circulating Fluidized Bed combustion. The hot gases from the cyclone pass to the
heat transfer surfaces and go out of the boiler.
Operation and Maintenance

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Bed Material
To start with the bed material is sand. Some portion is lost in the ash during the operation and this
has to be made-up. In coal fired boilers the ash from the coal itself will be the makeup material.
When firing bio fuels with very low ash content sand will be the makeup bed material. For high
Sulphur coals Limestone addition to the bed material reduces SO 2 emissions.
CFBC uses crushed coal of 3 to 6 mm size. This requires only a crusher not a pulverizer. From
storage hoppers Conveyer and feeders transport the coal to feed chutes in the furnace. Start up is
by oil burners in the furnace. Ash spouts in the furnace remove the ash from the bottom of the
furnace.
The diagram below shows the schematic of a CFB boiler.
Different boiler manufacturers adopt different methods of cyclone separation , the fluidizing nozzles
etc. But the basic principles remain the same.
Differences of a Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler and a

Pulverised Coal Boiler.
Updated Nov 25, 2009
Circulating Fluidized Bed combustion is a comparatively new technology that has given boiler and
power plant operators a greater flexibility in burning a wide range of fuels. How is this different from
the more widely used Pulverized Coal Combustion?
Most of the coal fired power plants use the Pulverized Coal (PC) firing technology. The technology is
proven and is in use for nearly a century. Advances over the years have improved the efficiency of
combustion, reliability and reduced emissions. The emerging technology of Circulating Fluidized Bed
(CFB) combustion is different in many ways from PC combustion. The key differences are listed
below.
PC firing utilises coal ground to a very fine powder sprayed into the furnace for combustion.
CFB uses coal crushed to sizes of around 3 to 6 mm. The time energy and facility required to crush
coal is much lesser than pulverizing coal.
PC firing uses around 30 % of the combustion air as high pressure primary air for drying and
transporting fuel.
CFB uses higher pressure primary air which is 60 % of the combustion air for fluidizing.
The total air for combustion and the balanced draught system is the same in both the systems.
The furnace and the cyclones in the CFB boilers are subject to a lot of erosion due to the circulation
of particles like ash and sand. To prevent this erosion a thin layer of refractory covers the lower half
of the furnace, upper transition areas and the cyclone.
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PC fired boilers do not have refractory covering on the furnace tubes or other heat transfer areas.
In a PC boiler a Flue Gas Desulphurisation unit is required for the reduction of Sulphur Dioxide.
In CFB boiler limestone addition in the furnace reduces the Sulphur Dioxide during combustion itself.
This requires only a simple limestone storage and handling unit.
In PC boilers around 15 % of ash collects at the bottom of the furnace and the balance in the
electrostatic precipitators.
In CFB boilers the collection at the bottom is almost 50 % lessening the load on the Electroststic
Precipitators.
The water and steam circuit, the natural circulation of water and heat transfer surfaces are all the
same in both the systems.
The diagrams below indicate the overall difference between the CFB boiler and the PC boiler
systems.
Running a Coal Fired Boiler at the Best Efficiency

Written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher
Updated Apr 5, 2010 Related Guides: Coal Fired Boilers | Fuel
In high capacity pulverized coal fired boilers, the total losses account to about 12 to 14%, i.e. 86 to
88% boiler efficiency. Roughly 50% of the losses can be tuned to the optimum and the other 50% is
governed by fuel properties like hydrogen in fuel, moisture in fuel, and ambient air conditions.
Boiler efficiency is mainly depended on the amount of losses in the system. In high capacity
pulverized coal fired boilers the total losses account to about 12 to 14%. Roughly 50% of the losses
are governed by fuel properties like hydrogen in fuel, moisture in fuel and ambient air conditions.
The other 50% losses are carbon loss and dry gas loss.
The best efficiency in the boiler can be achieved if the losses are kept to the minimum. Since 50% of
the losses are dependent on the fuel and ambient condition, the best efficiency can be achieved by
properly tuning the other 50%, i.e. mainly carbon loss and dry gas loss.
Carbon loss
Carbon loss is due to unburned carbon in fly ash and bottom ash. Normally the unburned in bottom
ash in the pulverised fuel firing are higher sized particle and of higher specific gravity having the
unburned macerals like Fusinite embedded in mineral matter and the low melting constituents
encapsulating the reactive maceral. Fly ash of pulverised coal firing system is around 80 to 90
percent of the total ash removed. The normal types of unburned are inert macerals, cenospheres,
and carbonaceous clay.
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Factors affecting carbon loss are
Coal rank and quality
Coal Petrographic characteristics
Characteristics and quantum of carbonaceous shale
Presence of low melting inorganics in coal ash
Residence time available for combustion in furnace
Type and number of burners
Type of milling system and primary air control system
Fineness of pulverised coal - Percentage of coarser particles
Primary air to secondary air ratios
Excess air at the burner/furnace and distribution of air into the burner/furnace
Burner Tilt (If provided).
The factors having the greatest influence on carbon loss are the boiler type, volatile matter content in
the coal, furnace heat loading (heat input/furnace volume), mass fraction of pulverised coal smaller
than 75 mm and excess air.
Dry gas loss
The dry gas loss accounts to about 40% of total losses. Dry gas loss is due to the heat carried away
by the flue gases leaving the boiler. Today many of the boiler designers reduce this loss by
recovering the heat after low temperature superheater by larger economizer and air pre-heaters. As
designers go for lower and lower exit gas temperature the size of air pre-heaters go up.
Boiler tuning for optimal Dry gas
Keep an optimal excess air level, generally about 20% in a coal fired boiler
Tune combustion of coal to the optimal condition.
Understand the coal being fired
Proper distribution of combustion air at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels
Keep the required fineness of coal about 75% through 200 mesh and less than 2% on 50
mesh sieve
Keep the maximum mill outlet temperature to reduce air bypassing air pre-heater
Soot blowing the entire heat transfer surface at an optimal frequency
Minimize the air in leakage to the boiler
Dry gas loss is also influenced by the economizer feed water inlet temperature and the ambient air
temperature, which change the heat recovery pattern of economiser & air-pre-heater.
Minor losses
There are a few minor losses in boiler which can also be tuned are the mill reject loss and the
carbon monoxide loss. The mill reject loss depends on the amount of pyrite in coal and the mill
operating condition.The rejects by the mill do have a heat value which is accounted as mill reject
loss. This can be minimized by properly maintaining the mill cleanaces and operating at the optimal
condition. The carbon-monoxide loss is due to combustion not being fully completed. However small
these losses are, the present environmental condition requires these losses also to be kept to the
minimum.
Other losses like loss due to moisture in fuel, air moisture loss, loss due to hydrogen in fuel, etc also
get affected by change in exit gas temperature, but the major impact on these losses is by fuel and
ambient property. When dry gas loss and carbon loss are kept to the optimum level then the boiler is
operated with its best efficiency.
About the Author
Dr V T Sathyanathan is a boiler consultant with 35 years of experience in various areas of high
pressure boiler trouble shooting. He holds a PhD in coal combustion in boilers.
Related Reading
Classification of Steam Boilers - Boiler classification can be based on many factors like usage, fuel
fired, fuel firing system, type of arrangement etc. Commonly known types are pulverized coal fired
boilers, fluidized bed boilers, super critical boilers, oil and gas fired boilers. All cater to industrial and
power generation.
Coal Analysis for Boiler Designers - Hydrocarbon fuels are the major source of energy for power and
process steam generation, and coal takes a major share in this. Boiler furnace design will depend
more on fuel characteristics, and further heat transfer surface sizing will depend on furnace outlet
temperature.
Furnace Size Varies for Gas, Oil and Coal Firing - Furnace sizing is a very important for a successful
boiler design. The variation in boiler furnace size can upset the performance drastically. Oil and gas
fired units have more uniform sizes, but the coal fired units have large variation.
High Ash Coals - A challenge to Power Plants - Optimisation of combustion in high ash coal fired
boilers is of special interest due to the organic and inorganic mix up and the large amount of
variation in the organics. One such experience with Indian low reactive coal in a tangential fired
steam generator of 670 T/hr capacity is given here.
Remaining Life Estimation in Boiler Pressure Parts

Updated May 19, 2011 Related Guides: Steam
Remaining life estimation in boiler pressure parts is a very important tool towards predictive
maintenance of boiler pressure parts. Boilers are made up of large amount of tubing and pipes of
different materials which will have to withstand high pressure and temperature.
Boilers are made up of a large amount of tubing and pipes of different materials which will have to
withstand high pressure and temperature. These pressure parts undergo aging due to various
reasons including internal and external deposition. Above a particular limit of aging these pressure
parts start failing frequently, which leads to higher outage of the units. To understand the health
condition of these pressure parts there are many scientific methods used today which can estimate
the remaining life of the pressure parts.
Reason to estimate remaining life
The high temperatures to which the pressure parts are subjected at elevated pressure lead to creep
stress. The starting and stopping of the unit results in fatigue stress, and the fuels burnt can cause
corrosion in various areas in the boiler. The water used for steam generation leaves deposits inside
the tube which increases the metal temperature leading to long term overheating. Residual stresses
during manufacturing, the vibrations due to flow over the tube, mechanical vibrations, erosion due to
the abrasive nature of the fuel, etc, do occur in a boiler. Operation of the boiler at elevated
temperature and parameters leads to stresses higher than the design levels. All of these, individually
or combined, lead to material degradations of different magnitude resulting in failure. To avoid any
such forced outage, boiler owners would like to have a preventive method. Remaining life estimation
of pressure parts helps this requirement by a scientific method of analysis.

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Steps involved in remaining life estimation

The first and foremost requirement of remaining life estimation is to study the past data of the plant.
The predicted performance data,
The guarantee performance test data,
The operating data for the period of time of operation of unit,
Operating practice adopted
The maintenance data,
Failures and repairs
Previous inspection reports
The outage data,
Areas of frequent failure if any,
Inadequacy of any nature in boiler,
Modifications carried out for achieving the performance,
Other major modifications,
The procedure adopted for welding during the years,
Any special welding method used,
Variation in water chemistry
Any post operational acid cleaning done
The number of startups and shutdowns of the unit
Temperature excursions in various areas
Any special study carried out and the reason for the study
The owners requirement after the life extension program
After consolidation of the data and understanding the data, the next step is to do a set of field tests.
These field tests include.
Visual inspection for

o
Erosion, corrosion
Swelling, scaling
Deposits, misalignments
Supports, pipe hangers etc
Dimensional checks
o
Thickness
Outside diameter
Non-destructive examination
Penetrant testing including fluorescent type
Magnetic particle inspection (Wet fluorescent & Dry)
Ultrasonic tests
In-situ hardness checks
Eddy current testing
Tube sampling water walls for internal deposit analysis
Superheater and reheater sample if needed
Special examinations for
WW H2 embrittlement
Superheater/Reheater for oxide scales,
Metallographic examination of thick wall component
Fibroscopic inspection of headers and other regions needed
Spot chemical check when needed
Once when the field tests are completed, a few laboratory examinations and tests are carried out.
The tube samples taken from the water walls, superheater, and reheater are subjected
to microscopic examination (Light Microscopy & Scanning Electron Microscopy) to understand the
microstructure of the tube material. The water wall tubes are subjected to internal deposit analysis.
Both the quantity of the deposit and the chemical composition are carried out to evaluate the need to
carry out post operational acid cleaning. Based on this, the solvent for post operational acid cleaning
is decided. Other mechanical and metallurgical tests are also carried out for the tube samples
collected. If any external deposits are collected from locations in the boiler, they are also analysed to
understand the cause of the deposition. The presence of both external and internal corrosion is also
evaluated based on the deposit analysis and the tube sample study. If the failure data gives a clue
for any hydrogen embrittlement in the water wall tubes, a detailed field test and analysis is carried
out to decide the area requiring replacement. The samples taken from the thick walled components
are analysed forspheroidisation and cavitation level. Based on the level the repair and replacement
strategy is arrived at.
Remaining life prediction techniques
There are many methods used by engineers to predict the remaining life of boiler pressure
parts. The most commonly used technique is the steam side oxide scale thickness growth and life
fraction rule using Larson-Miller parameter. Every tube in service has a Larson-Miller parameter that
increases with time. The oxide scale thickness is correlated by many equations which is used to
arrive at the remaining life along with the life fraction rule.
The strain measurement technique is another method used, however this requires data with a large
time interval.
There are advanced techniques like crack growth propagation analysis which is being tried with
limited success.
Many other tailormade techniques are used by different boiler makers to estimate the remaining life
of pressure parts. However due to the large scatter in stress values of the materials used along with
the safety margins and other special allowances used during design, it is very difficult to predict the
remaining life with good accuracy levels.
How does a Power Plant Boiler work? - Water and Steam

System.
Updated Oct 31, 2009 Related Guides: Steam
The boiler generates high pressure steam by transfering the heat of Combustion in various heat
transfer sections. This part of the article series briefly describes the flow and arrangement of the heat
transfer sections in a boiler. In line diagrams help make the concept clear.
The Basics.
Volume of one unit mass of steam is thousand times that of water, When water is converted to steam
in a closed vessel the pressure will increase. Boiler uses this principle to produce high pressure
steam.
Conversion of Water to Steam evolves in three stages.
Heating the water from cold condition to boiling point or saturation temperature sensible
heat addition.
Water boils at saturation temperature to produce steam - Latent heat.addition.
Heating steam from saturation temperature to higher temperature called Superheating to

increase the power plant output and efficiency.
Sensible Heat Addition

Feed Water Pump.
The first step is to get a constant supply of water at high pressure into the boiler. Since the boiler is
always at a high pressure. Boiler feed water pump pumps the water at high pressure into the boiler
from the feed water tank. The pump is akin to the heart in the human body.
Pre-Heating
'Feed water heaters, using extracted steam from the turbine, adds a part of the sensible heat even
before the water enters the boiler.
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Economiser.
Most of the sensible heat is absorbed in the Economiser. These are a set of coils made from steel
tubes located in the tail end of a boiler. The hot gases leaving the boiler furnace heat the water in the
coils. The water temperature is slightly less than the saturation temperature. From the economiser
the water is fed to the 'drum'.
Pre-Heating & Economiser
Latent Heat Addition

Drum.
The drum itself a large cylindrical vessel that functions as the storage and feeding point for water
and the collection point for water and steam mixture. This is the largest and most important pressure
part in the boiler and weighs in the range 250 Tons for 600 MW power plant.
Water Walls
Boiling takes place in the Water Walls which are water filled tubes that form the walls of the furnace.
Water Walls get the water from the downcomers which are large pipes connected to the drum. The
downcomers and the water wall tubes form the two legs of a water column.
As the water heats up in the furnace a part of the water in the water-wall tubes becomes steam. This
water steam mixture has a lower density than the water in the downcomers. This density difference
creates a circulation of water from the drum, through the downcomers, water walls and back to the
drum. Steam collects at the upper half of the drum. The steam is then sent to the next sections.
The temperature in the drum, downcomers and water wall is at the saturation temperature.
WaterWalls
SuperHeat / ReHeat
SuperHeater
Steam from the drum passes to the SuperHeater coils placed in the Flue gas path.. The steam
temperature increases from the saturation temperature till the maximum required for operation. The
superheated steam then finally goes to the turbine.Final Superheater temperatures are in the Range
of 540 to 570 C for large power plants and SuperHeated steam pressures are around 175 bar.
Reheater
Steam from the exhaust of the first stage turbine goes back to the boiler for reheating and is returned
to the second stage. Reheater coils in the flue gas path does the reheating of the returned steam.
The reheat steam is at a much lower pressure than the super heated steam but the final reheater
temperature is the same as the superheated steam temperature. Reheating to high temperatures
improves the output and efficiency of the Power Plant. Final Reheater temperatures are normally in
the range of 560 to 600 C. Reheat steam pressures are normally around 45 bar.
SuperHeater / ReHeater
The above are the major water and steam circuit items in a boiler and are collectively called the
pressure parts.
How does a Power Plant Boiler work? - Combustion System

Updated Oct 31, 2009
Boilers burn coal to produce steam. Burning coal involves fuel preparation, providing the necessary
combustion air and removal of the flue gases and ash. What are the main elements of the
Combustion system in a large power plant boiler? Read this article to find the answers.
Coal System
Coal received from the mines is stored in the coal yard adjacent to the power plant. It is then
conveyed on a daily basis to the boiler and stored in a Coal Silo. Coal feeders continuously feed
the required amount of coal to the Coal Pulverisers.
Coal Pulverisers grind the coal to a very fine powder to make it burn easily. Pulverisers have steel
rollers or steel balls which crush the coal between them into a fine powder. This powder is easy to
burn. Coal contains moisture. Hot air form the Primary Air Fans dry the coal in the pulverisers. This
makes the burning easy and efficient. This air also carries the dry coal powder from the pulverisers
to the burners in the boiler furnace.In the burners the coal powder is mixed with the required amount
of Combustion air and burned in the furnace.
.
Coal Flow In a Boiler
Air system
Correct amount of air is the most essential ingredient for Combustion. More air or less air both
makes the combustion process inefficient.
Forced Draft Fan supplies most of the Combustion air. This fan takes air from the atmosphere and
blows it into the furnace through air ducts. The Air Heater heats the air before it enters the Furnace.

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Air Heater utilises the heat of the hot flue gases that leave the boiler to heat the combustion air. Hot
air improves the efficiency of combustion. The Air Heater works on the regenerative principle. Steel
plates alternatively placed in the hot flue gas path and then in the air path heats the cold air entering
the Air Heater.
Primary Air Fan supplies the air to the pulverisers for drying and transporting coal. This air called the
Primary air also is heated in the Air Heater.
Flue gas system.

Coal burns in the furnace giving out heat and forming flue gases.
Induced Draft Fan. The hot flue gases from the furnace is drawn out by the Induced draft fan. The
gases passes through the various heating surfaces of the boiler, the Electrostatic Precipitator and
discharges to the atmosphere at the top of the stack. Induced Draft Fan provides the energy for this
flow of flue gases. The Induced Draft Fan is normally located adjacent to the Stack.
Electrostatic Precipitators capture the fly ash in the flue gases without letting them out into the
atmosphere. High voltage electrodes placed in the gas path ionise the ash particles which collects
on collecting electrodes and falls into ash hoppers.
Stack or the Chimney disperses the hot gases and any other particles at a great height. The height
enables a very large dispersion area and regulates emission concentrations at ground levels to the
level acceptable to humans and vegetation. Stack heights for large power plants are around 250 to
280 meters.
Balanced Draft. The Forced Draft fan and the Induced Draft fan operate in such a way that the air
pressure in the furnace is at zero pressure ie: at atmospheric pressure. This is called the Balanced
Draft system.
Air and Flue Gas System In a Boiler
Ash System.
Ash is the inert matter in coal and is the residue after combustion. This has to be collected and
disposed off without letting it out into the atmosphere. A part of the ash, around 15 % collects as
Bottom ash at the bottom of the furnace. The other part collects as Fly ash in the Electrostatic
Precipitators. The collected ash is then transported to disposal yards or storage silos.
The above are the brief of the main equipment required for the proper combustion of coal in a large
power plant boiler.
Cold End Corrosion in a Boiler and Its Prevention

Updated May 25, 2011 Related Guides: Fuel
Using fuels with sulfur in steam generating units yields a potential hazard of sulfur corrosion at the
cold end of the boiler. The severity depends on many factors like percentage of sulfur in the fuel,
excess air, moisture in flue gas, etc. Many options are available to contain cold end corrosion
Boilers generating steam for use in power generation and process power plants use different type of
fuels. These fuels contain sulphur to differing percentages. The higher the percentage of sulphur, the
higher will be the risk of cold end corrosion in the boiler. The sulphur in the fuel during combustion
gets converted to sulphur dioxide. Depending upon the other impurities present in the fuel and
excess air levels, some portion of the sulphur dioxide gets converted to sulphur trioxide. The
presence of moisture in the flue gas due to moisture in fuel and air, sulphur dioxide, and trioxide,
combines with moisture and forms sulphuric acid and sulphuric acid. These acids condense from
around 115 degree centigrade to slightly higher than 160 degrees, depending upon the
concentration of SO3 and water-vapour. The basic reactions taking place are
S + O2 SO2
SO2 + O2 SO3
H2O + SO2 H2SO3
H2O + SO3 H2SO4
Depending upon the ppm of SO3 and water-vapor concentration, the dew point temperature can vary
from around 90 degree centigrade to 140 degree centigrade.
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Condensation of these acids results in metal wastage and boiler tube failure, air preheater corrosion,
and flue gas duct corrosion. In order to avoid or reduce the cold end corrosion the gas temperature
leaving the heat transfer surface in boiler is kept around 150 degrees centigrade, ranging from 120
to 155. It is very important that the metal temperature of the tubes is always kept above the
condensation temperature. It may be noted that the metal temperature of the tubes is governed by
the medium temperature of the fluid inside the tubes. This makes it necessary to preheat water to at
least 150 degrees centigrade before it enters the economizer surface. In the case of an air preheater, two methods are used to increase the metal temperature. One is an air bypass for air preheater, and the second is using a steam coil air pre-heater to increase the air temperature entering
the air pre-heater.
The amount of SO3 produced in boiler flue gas increases with an increase of excess air, gas
temperature, residence time available, the amount of catalysts like vanadium pentoxide, nickel, ferric
oxide, etc., and the sulphur level in fuel.
The flue gas dew point temperature increases steeply from 90 degree centigrade to 135 degrees
centigrade with sulphur percentage increasing up to 1%. A further increase in sulphur percentage in
fuel gradually increases the dew point temperature from 135 degree centigrade to 165 degrees
centigrade at 3.5% sulphur in fuel.
Prevention of cold end corrosion

There are many methods used world over to contain cold end corrosion. These methods fall in the
category of in-combustion reduction and post-combustion reduction.
The in-combustion reduction methods include:
Burning low sulphur fuel
Low excess air burners
Fuel additives
Fluidized bed combustors
Going in for low sulphur fuel sometimes become economically unviable for the process for which the
steam generators are used. Today many low excess air designs are available in the market. These
burners adopt many ways to reduced excess air requirement without affecting the unburnts in the
flue gas after combustion. Fuel oil additives like simple magnesium oxides are used to contain cold
end corrosion due to sulphur. The magnesium oxide is injected in to the furnace or mixed with fuel
which combines with sulphur oxides to form magnesium sulphate. In fluidized bed combustors, lime
addition is a simple method used to reduce sulphur corrosion.
The post-combustion technologies adopted are:
Designing with higher exit gas temperature
Air bypass across air pre-heater
Ammonia injection
Flue gas desulphurization (FGD)
Designing boilers with higher exit gas temperature reduces the boiler efficiency. As a rule of thumb
approximately every 20 degree centigrade increase of flue gas temperature at boiler outlet reduces
the efficiency by 1%. Hence this is not a preferred method in the present days.
Air pre-heater bypass is for mainly for startup purposes until the metal temperature can be
maintained above condensation temperature even when the cold air enters. Some designers use
steam coil air pre-heater for full operation of the boiler.
Ammonia injection was a method adopted by a few designers in certain process plant boilers
burning high sulphur oil due to the availability of ammonia. Ammonia is injected in the economizer
region where the temperature of flue gas is below the ammonia dissociation temperature and
sufficient time is available for the chemical reaction. Ammonia combines with sulphur trioxide to form
ammonium sulphate. The rate of ammonia injection will depend upon the SO 3 concentration. The
problem with this method is it produces a high volume of loose deposits of ammonium sulphate,
which increases the pressure drop in the flue gas path. Removal of these deposits is done by water
washing of the air pre-heater online.
Flue gas desulphurization is a very common method adopted in the present day. Here the flue gas
with acid vapors is scrubbed to remove it as a byproduct. Most of the FGD processes use alkali to
scrub the flue gas. Many designers of FGD adopt the limestone gypsum process. This process has
gained acceptance due to the saleable gypsum byproduct. Sea water availability makes it possible
to use it as an absorbent of sulphur oxides in acid form. There is another process called the
Wellman-Lord Process, which is a regenerative process that uses aqueous sodium sulphite solution
for scrubbing flue gas. The saleable byproduct, depending on the plants design, could be elemental
sulphur, sulphuric acid, or liquid SO2. There are many working plants using this technology in Japan,
USA, and Germany. The Sodium Bicarbonate Injection Process is a direct injection method adapted
to de-sulphur the flue gas. Here the sodium bicarbonate is injected in the duct after the air pre-heater
and before the dust removal system like an electrostatic precipitator or bag filters.
How to Conduct a Boiler Performance Test

Updated May 20, 2011
The performance test in a boiler evaluates the practically achievable boiler efficiency. Performance
tests are also carried out to prove boiler guarantees. As guarantees involve contractual conditions,
the procedure involved are more elaborate than the test for evaluating performance.
Conducting a boiler performance test can be for understanding the current level of performance of
the boiler, for any trouble shooting of the boiler for performance deviations, and for proving the
performance guarantees. These entire three requirements can be met by the procedure adopted for
performance guarantee testing. Before starting the performance guarantee test we have to
understand the contact requirement fully, understand fully the performance level of the boiler, keep in
mind the normal areas of concern, decide the right time for the test, organize the test instruments,
make sure all local measurement grid points are in order, install all test instruments at the specified
areas, do a trial test, and declare the guarantee test.
Understand the contact requirement
Understand all guarantees well including those agreed including added any after contract
finalization
Talk to performance designer as to whether he has taken any calculated risk during the
proposal
Look at the penalty for each guarantee and be clear about the severity levels
Be clear on the demonstration guarantee - what each means
Look at rejection clauses in the contract
Study the performance guarantee proposal submitted and approved
Understand fully the performance level of the boiler
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Make sure you have log readings of each load under which guarantees are agreed
Evaluate the performance of the boiler and correct it to design fuel
Be sure you are using the contracted and approved code for PG test
Make sure you are evaluating all unaccounted losses and check how far you are eating
into the manufacturers margin
If required, inform the site of the findings from log data and ask them to retune and give
another set of data
The normal areas of concern
Oxygen and flue gas temperature at boiler outlet - only single point measurement for
regular log reading
Do a grid measurement during commissioning and check whether the point is close to the
average grid value for the all loads guarantee is made
Coal sampling and testing - total moisture evaluation is very critical and has to be done as
per procedure in the standard being followed
Power consumption readings - Equipment agreed to be included and current, voltage and
power factor readings to be taken
Percentage combustibles measurement in bottom ash - fly ash normally no problem faced
Decide the right time for the test
Make sure the ambient conditions are conducive for PG test - avoid rainy season
Complete the performance evaluation of the boiler and make sure the guarantees are met
with correction to design conditions as per contracted code
Decide test team - it is a good practice to have a performance engineer in the team if the
boiler is first of its kind
Make out clear responsibility for each team member - never exceed five (four in the team is
good) excluding the performance engineer
Evolve strategy for achieving the guarantee if there is any concern in any area
Test instruments
Make sure all instruments planned to be used have valid calibration certificate and from a
third agency of repute
The multi point measurement probes for temperature and flue gas sampling are made
ready and are as per standard
All the thermocouples must be individually calibrated and should be within the expiration of
calibration period
Flue gas analysis equipment for oxygen, carbon-dioxide, and pollutants like NOx and SOx
must be calibrated with calibration gases provided by supplier
The flue gas measurement by Orsat must also be organized - leakage of air into flue gas
during sampling is a major concern. All efforts to avoid this should be taken by checking
and rechecking
Local measurement grid points
Location of grid is very important as in a large duct there will be high amount of imbalance
and stratification
Care must be taken while providing the grid tapping points for proper access to insert the
long probes
Avoid tapping points near a direction change, void region, or near the tapping point hole
The number of points for grid must be as per code used for PG test
The power consumption measurement points and connections must be identified and
connection procedure ensured
Installation of all test instruments
All probes for APH inlet and outlet gas temperature and flue gas sampling must be
assembled with thermocouple
Each thermocouple on the probe should be close to the gas sampling hole if not at the
sampling hole
Connection to the measurement device (data logger or local measurement) should be

carefully checked for any deviation or defect
The gas sampling probe should be connected by flexible tubing to the sampler trough a
bubbler
The sampling must be done by a pump and all air ingress points in the connection net work
may be fully checked and sealed
The gas temperature is measured at each point but the gas can be sampled from all points
as a composite one
Connect the other grid temperature measurements in areas like air temperature entering
air preheater, temperature and oxygen at ID inlet
All the air and flue gas pressure should be measured using a standard water tube
manometer
All pressure gauges, if pressure drop guarantee is there, must be done
All steam, water temperature must be done through a calibrated thermocouple through a
thermowell
All thermocouple must be appropriately corrected for cold junction compensation
The ambient temperature, both wet and dry bulb, must be taken close to the air intake point
of FD and PA fan at the required frequency
The readings in the control room must be separately logged with a required frequency
The coal, flyash, bottom ash and mill rejects must be collected at the required frequency
and equipment
Trial test
At the required load condition wall blow the boiler and also do the soot blowing if needed look at contract clause for any prerequisites
Tune the combustion for the lowest allowed excess air and lowest achievable APH outlet
gas temperature
Allow the boiler to stabilize for about one hour and start the trial test
Take all readings at the required frequency as per the standard
Check the total moisture in coal and the combustibles in ash. If proximate analysis of is
available which is within 24 hours this can be taken for immediate checking of the trial
reading - correct the same for design coal
The guarantee test
If results of trial test are OK, then declare Performance Guarantee test, make sure a
customer representative or consultant as per contract is a witness for all readings and data
logged - Sign the log data then and there from all including customer rep or consultant
Normally all PG test are run for four hours unless otherwise agreed before test
Collect all samples, coal, mill reject, fly ash and bottom ash make in to three portions one
for customer, one for your use and the other as reference sample in case needed.
The reference sample is signed and sealed by both supplier and customer (Also consultant
if involved in test)
Do the test at all the agreed load
Make sure that all log readings and samples are properly signed, labeled and packed
properly to avoid mix-up.
Get the total moisture reading done for each test and a signed copy got from the customer
or his assigned agency
If any deviation is noticed during any test because of load fluctuation or any other reason
then record the same in that particular log sheet for reference in future
Make a final minutes of meeting with customer / consultant about the test carried out, any
special observation, and when the report will be submitted.
Determining Boiler Efficiency

Updated Aug 3, 2010 Related Guides: Steam
Determining and adjusting the efficiency of a boiler in a power plant or a process industry is essential
for energy savings. The main requirements for determining the boiler efficiency is detailed in this
article.
The boiler is the first stage in which energy conversion from fuel - coal, oil, gas or any other- to
steam takes place. The steam is used further for power production in a turbine, for a process
reaction, or for heating another fluid or gas, or simply for heating the air in the house.
What we mean by boiler efficiency is the efficiency of conversion from the chemical energy in the
fuel to the heat energy in steam. This is shown as a percentage of the fuel energy. Modern boilers of
large capacity used in power plants have an efficiency ranging from 80 to 90 %.
Here we look at simple methods to calculate boiler efficiency. Those interested in an elaborate
calculation method should follow ASME PTC 4, which is the performance test code for boilers.
Input-Output Method
The simple method is to measure quantity of fuel input and the steam energy output. This method is
the input output method.
Efficiency %= Output / Input X100
=[Steam Flow kg/s x Steam Enthalpy kj/kg] - [Water Flow kg/sWater Enthalpy kj/kg] / [Coal
Flow kg/s x HHV of Coal kj/kg] 100
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In case of reheat units the reheater inlet and outlet enthalpy also has to be considered.
Enthalpy of steam and water is available in steam tables if we know the pressure and temperature.
Pressure and temperatures are available online in all the boilers.
Steam Flow and water Flow also is normally available online. However the accuracies are to be
verified before using them.
One can determine the higher heating value by taking a sample of coal as it enters the boiler and
analyzing it in the laboratory. These are normally done on a daily basis in most power plants.
Fuel flow is more complicated. Gravimetric feeders used in modern power plants can give the coal
flows to a certain degree of accuracy. Otherwise this will have to be computed from volumetric flows
and bulk density of the fuels.
This method, although it looks simple on paper, is not the industry preferred method because
Flow measurements are not accurate nor steady
Good quality flow instruments are costly.
Flow measurements always involve a co-efficient, which can very much alter the results.
Trouble shooting problems for determining the reasons for a lower efficiency is difficult.
However, this method finds use for quick calculation if the flow measurements are reliable and
steady.
Losses Method
Another method and a more practical approach is to measure the losses and then calculate the
efficiency.
Efficiency % = 100 Losses %.
The big advantage is that the calculation is on unit basis i.e.: for 1 kg of coal. This eliminates any
inaccuracies in flow measurements.
Air and gas quantities are determined on theoretical basis and from laboratory analysis of the fuel.
This is more accurate than the field flowmeters.
Since each loss is separately calculated it is easy to identify problem areas.
Quick Facts
The most important factor that affects the Boiler efficiency is the Gas temperature leaving the boiler.
In a coal fired boiler of a 500 MW power plant if the temperature increases by ten degree centigrade
the efficiency reduces by about 0.5 %.
Another main factor is the unburnt coal in the in the ash. One % increase in unburnts is around 0.5
% reduced efficiency.
These two are controllable by the proper maintenance and operational adjustments. The operator
has to find out reasons why these two parameters are high and take necessary corrective action.
Boiler Efficiency Calculation Simplified

Updated Aug 2, 2010 Related Guides: Coal Fired Boilers
A practical and simple method for calculating the efficiency of coal fired boilers is given in this article.
Practical assumptions are used to simplify the otherwise elaborate calculations of the Boiler test
codes.
The ASME method for Boiler Efficiency Calculation PTC 4 is elaborate and requires many input data
points, measurements, and samples. With some practical assumptions, the calculations are made
simple and are shown in this article.
The Losses method is used to calculate boiler efficiency. Each of the different Losses is calculated to
determine the efficiency.
Data Required
For a coal fired boiler to calculate these losses we require the following data.
Higher Heating Value of coal on as Fired Basis HHV- kJ / kg
Proximate Analysis of Coal on as Fired basis which include
Fixed Carbon FC %
Volatile Matter VM %
Ash %
Moisture %
Hydrogen % in coal. This normally available only from an Ultimate analysis. This can be
used from a past historic data for similar type of coal. The value normally is in the range of
2 - 4 %.
Gas temperature at boiler exit - Tg C
Ambient Temperature - Dry bulb - Ta C
Oxygen in Flue gas on a dry basis - O2 %

o
The oxygen measurement should be from a location near to the Temperature

point.
On line Oxygen, measurements are normally on wet basis.
Sampled Oxygen measurements are on dry basis. In coal fired units O2 % ( dry
basis)= (O2 % ( wet basis)) / 0.9
Unburnt Carbon in ash U %
In large coal fired plants, ash collection is in different locations. This is mainly at
the Furnace bottom and the Precipitator Hoppers. The U % should be on a
weighted average basis. A ratio of 85: 15 is practical between furnace bottom and
precipitator ash collection.
U %=[U-fly ash x 85 + U-bot ash x 15] / 100
Carbon Monoxide in Flue gas - CO ppm

o
This is normally applicable in oil and gas fired units but can be applicable in Coal
fired units if the combustion is very bad.
Most of these data is available readily in a power plant from online instruments and from daily
analysis reports.
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ASME or other codes require the ultimate analysis of Coal for finding the air and gas quantities to
use in the efficiency calculations. This normally takes time. Here we make an assumption because
the Stoichiometric air quantity lies within a small band for fossil fuels because of the
interdependence of Carbon, Hydrogen and the Calorific value.
Stoichiometric Air qty

o
= 0.325 kg/ MJ for Coal Firing.
Controllable Losses
Losses itself can be categorised into three. First are the losses that the plant operators can control.
Following losses are in this category.
Loss 1. Exit gas loss or Dry gas Loss.

o
Loss2. Unburnt Carbon loss in ash normally for Coal fired units.
o
= 0.72 x [Tg - Ta ] / [21- O2]
= U Ash 33810 / [100 - U ] / HHV
Loss3. Unburnt Fuel as CO - normally for oil or gas fired boilers.

o
=0.0067 x CO / [21-O2 ]
Inherent Losses
Some Losses are due to the inherent characteristics of the fuel. The operator really has no control
over these losses.
Loss 4 - due to the Hydrogen in the coal
Loss 5 - due to the Moisture in the coal

o
=[9 x H + M] x [1.88 Tg + 2500 - 4.18Ta] / HHV
Hydrogen on combustion forms water and together with the moisture in the coal evaporates and
leaves with the flue gas. The vaporisation takes away some heat from the combustion and reduces
boiler efficiency. This is part of the energy conversion process.
Minor Losses
Apart from the main losses mentioned above there are many minor losses. Since these are mainly
uncontrollable linked to the main losses we assume the value of these losses.
Loss 6 -Radiation loss.
Loss 7 -Heat loss in ash.
Loss 8 -Heat loss in coal mill rejects.
Loss 9 -Loss due to moisture in air
1 % for coal fired boilers with ash less than 20 %.
1.5 % for coal fired boilers with ash greater than 20 %.
Efficiency % = 100 - Sum of all Losses %

The Boiler engineer should really worry about category one. This is what the operator can adjust and
reduce.
Understanding Tube Failures in High Pressure Boilers

Updated Nov 16, 2010 Related Guides: Fuel
Boiler tube failures are inevitable. There are twenty-two primary reasons for tube failures in a boiler.
Knowledge and good operating and maintenance practice reduce tube failures. Reducing tube
failure in boilers increases the availability of boiler.
Whatever the type of fuel being fired, all high pressure boilers are bound to have a tube failure
during the course of their working life. Did you know that a single tube failure in a 500 MW boiler
requiring four days of repair work can result in a loss of more than $1,000,000 apart from the
generation loss?
There are six major groups into which all tube failures can be classified. These six groups can be
further divided in to a total of twenty-two primary types. All high pressure boilers commissioned and
put into operation go through a stabilization period, during which some teething problems occur,
including a few tube failures.
Classification of tube failures
Tube failures are classified as in-service failures in boilers. These failures can be grouped under six
major causes:
1. Stress rupture
2. Fatigue
3. Water side corrosion
4. Erosion
5. Fire side corrosion (Called also as High temperature Corrosion)
6. Lack of quality control.

These lead to twenty-two primary causes that can cause a tube failure in a high pressure boiler:


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Short term overheating failure
Long term overheating failure (called also as creep failures)
Dissimilar metal weld failure
Fatigue caused by vibration
Thermal fatigue due to temperature fluctuation
Corrosion fatigue failures
Caustic corrosion inside the tube
Hydrogen damage in water wall internal surface
Tube internal pitting
Fly ash erosion
Falling slag erosion
Soot blower erosion
Coal particle erosion
Low temperature flue gas corrosion
Fire side waterwall corrosion
Coal ash corrosion
Oil ash corrosion
Damage during maintenance cleaning
Chemical excursion damage
Material defect and weld defects
Tube failure during stabilization period

The tube failures in a boiler during initial phase of operation are different from the types that occur
after prolonged operation. During the initial period of operation of boiler the type of tube failures seen
are short term overheating, weld failures, material defects, chemical excursion failure, and
sometimes fatigue failures. The short term overheating failure is mainly due to blockage in the fluid
path by some foreign material which gets into the tube surface during fabrication or during erection
of the unit. The blockage can also happen when debris after acid cleaning of the boiler is not
removed completely. This failure can be visually identified by it characteristic appearance of a fishmouth-like opening and so is also called as fish mouth failure.
Tube failure during normal operation period
Any of these twenty-two mechanisms can be the cause of a tube failure during normal operation.
However, a few like water side corrosion, caustic corrosion, hydrogen damage in the water wall, soot
blower erosion, damage during maintenance cleaning, and tube internal pitting can be totally
eliminated in a boiler if good operating and maintenance practices as told by the boiler designers are
followed. The failures due to long term overheating, fatigue, fly ash erosion, fire side corrosion,
falling slag damage, etc can still happen in a boiler due to fuel quality variation, operating
temperature, startup and shutdown rate, etc. Hence it is not fully possible to avoid tube failures in a
high pressure boiler, but the number of them can be minimized by analyzing all failures and taking
corrective and preventive action.
Tube failure in high pressure boilers follow a normal bath tub curve, with higher rate during initial
operation period, stabilizing to a lower rate during the normal operating period and again increasing
as the boilers age and cross ten to fifteen years of operation. During this period the boiler pressure
parts are evaluated for their remaining life and corrective action taken. A few photos of tube failure
are shown below.
Short term over heating, Long term over heating & Thermal Fatigue failure
Advantages of a Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler

Updated Nov 25, 2009 Related Guides: Power Plants
Circulating Fluidized Bed combustion is competing with Pulverised Coal firing to give boiler and
power plant operators a greater flexibility in burning a wide range of fuels. What is the specific
advantage of this technology? What are its limitations ?
The Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology offers definitely certain advantages over the
conventional Pulverized Coal (PC). As with any system there are limitations also. The key
advantages and limitations are discussed in this article.
Fuel Flexibility
The most important advantage of the CFB is the flexibility of firing a wide range of coal from 9500 to
25000 kJ/kg. CFBs can also burn a limitless number of other types of solid fuels, separately or
mixed with coal. The limitations if any are only in the feeding and other mechanical equipment. The
output capacity and steam parameters depend on the heating value of the fuel.
CFB boiler can use different types of solid fuels that include low quality coal, lignites, coal blends,
bagasse in sugar plants, bark in pulp and paper mills, coal washery rejects in mines, petcoke and
other bio mass products. Most of these fuels are seasonal, production or availability dependent.
Mixing with coal or using coal when other fuels are not available gives an uninterrupted steam
and energy supply.
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Sulphur Dioxide removal.

Firing high Sulphur coal requires the use of a Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) plant to keep
emissions within statutory limits. An FGD is a complicated plant that requires high capital investment
and operational cost. In a CFB limestone addition in the furnace converts the SO 2 to sulphates
during the combustion and circulation which goes out with the ash. A CFB boiler costs less than a
PC fired boiler with an FGD.
NOx Reduction
The combustion temperature in the furnace in a CFB boiler is considerably less than PC boilers
resulting in lower NOx emissions. There is no additional requirement of separate NOx capturing
devices which reduces capital investment.
Maintenance
Eliminating the pulverizer and pulverized coal piping reduces maintenance, related outages and
equipment redundancy. A part of this saving is offset by higher maintenance due to erosion in
pressure parts and furnace area, and maintenance of the refractory.
Auxiliary Power
Eliminating the pulveriser reduces power but is offset by increased power for higher quantity of
primary air. Auxiliary power reduction by eliminating the FGD is a definite gain.
Limitations
Unit capacities with CFB technology are limited to 200 MW range. Higher capacities are in
development.
Higher steam pressures and temperatures increase the power plant cycle efficiency. CFB technology
has yet to achieve the same level of parameters in the new large power plants.
Power Plant Emissions - Major Gaseous Emissions

Updated Sep 19, 2010
A major portion of harmful emissions from thermal power plants are emitted in gaseous form. This
article contains a brief explanation of the formation and statutory limits of these emissions.
Carbon Monoxide - CO
CO is a poisonous gas and is harmful to life. Carbon monoxide is formed due to the incomplete
combustion fuels such as coal. Modern coal fired boilers have excess air levels that are 15 to 20 %
greater than stoichiometric requirements. Furnace aerodynamics ensure the proper mixing of fuel
and air so under normal conditions, the CO formed is negligible or almost nil.
High levels of CO, 2000 -3000 ppm or higher are possible if the combustion is not good. This is
mainly due to operator fault or improper maintenance of pulverizers, burners, and air registers
Apart from the poisonous nature of the CO, CO formation is an indication of inefficient heat release
from the coal. This in turn requires more coal to produce the same amount of power, increasing
CO2 emissions and associated problems.
Almost all power plants have continuous monitoring of CO. This is an emission that can be
eliminated.
Sulphur Dioxide - SOx

Sulphur is present in coal in varying quantities and can range from 0.1% to as high as 4.5%. Sulphur
in coal is due to the formation of the coal millions of years ago and varies widely from mine to mine.
Sulphur dioxide is again an inevitable result of combustion. A small amount of SO 3 or sulphur-trioxide
is also formed. Collectively they are known as SOX.

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The effect of SOX in the atmosphere is to form sulphuric acid droplets. This forms acid rain and is
very detrimental to health and vegetation. This also results in the formation of ground level ozone,
which contributes to global warming.
Power plant operators who get low sulphur coal are lucky. But others with logistic access only for
higher sulphur coal have to make arrangements to remove the SO X formed, increasing the cost of
the power. Almost all countries have very strict limitations on SOX emissions. National Air Quality
Standards in the US have limitations restricting SOX emissions to 0.03 ppm on an annual arithmetic
mean, with once-only 24-hour allowable emissions of 0.14 ppm. The rest have to be captured. Indian
air quality norms cap SOX at 80 g/m3.
Almost all coal fired plants today are equipped with flue gas desulphurization, or FGD. Dry or wet
flue gas desulphurization plants use mostly limestone, CaCO 3, to absorb the SO2 as CaSO4. Even
though the technology is available, the cost of operating a chemical plant within a power plant deters
the use of the FGD units.
The other alternative is to use a CFBC boiler where limestone or other sorbents can be mixed with
the fuel to absorb the SO2 formed during the combustion process itself.
Nitrogen Dioxide - Nox

Nitrogen oxides are formed at high temperatures in the range of 1500 C during the combustion of
coal. This is called "thermal NOx." The nitrogen itself is from the combustion air- 76.8%. The major
portion is NO2 with small amounts of NO and is collectively called NOX .
Even though NOX formation is an inherent combustion related activity, this can be avoided by proper
flame patterns and air fuel mixing. Due to the very complex flow patterns during combustion, there
may be certain parts of the flame that are higher than the 1500 C.
The low NOX burning systems are designed to streamline the flame to eliminate these hot spots. The
air distribution systems and the aerodynamic design of the burner components are the two main
items that are considered in low NOX burners.
The NOx itself contributes to acid rain, smog formation, visibility, and eye irritation.
National Air Quality Standards of the US restrict NOx emissions to 100 g/m 3 on an annual
arithmetic mean. The Indian cap is 80 g/m3.
"Selective Catalytic Reduction" is the method to eliminate NO X. NOX is absorbed by urea liquid in the
presence of a catalyst to form ammonia which disintegrates to form nitrogen and water vapor.
Basic Calculations for a Power Plant- Calculating the Coal

Quantity
Published Oct 15, 2009 Related Guides: Electricity
How to make quick estimate of the coal required for running a power plant? This article describes a
simple method.
Very often, the Power engineer is required to perform some basic calculations regarding the key
parameters of a power plant. Most important is the quantity and cost of fuel that is required.This
article gives the simple calculation method. (A detailed calculation required in the context of a
contract, tender, performance repor,t or a legal document may require more accurate input data.)
We take the example of a 100 MW Coal Fired Power Plant.
Energy Content in Coal

The basic function of the power plant is to convert energy in coal to electricity. Therefore, the first
thing we should know is how much energy there is in coal. Energy content of coal is given in terms
of KiloJoules (kJ) per Kilogram (kg) of coal as the Gross calorific value (GCV) or the Higher Heating
value (HHV) of coal. This value can vary from 10500 kJ/kg to 25000 kJ/kg depending on the quality
and type of the coal.
You should have an idea of the type of coal, or the source or mine from where the the plant gets the
coal. Published data about the sources, mines, regions or the procurement data gives an idea about
the HHV of coal. For this example we use a HHV of 20,000 kJ/kg.


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Efficiency
Energy conversion takes place in two stages.
The first part of the conversion is efficiency of the boiler and combustion. For this example
we take 88 % on an HHV basis that is the normal range for a well-optimized power plant.
Second part is the steam cycle efficiency. Modern Rankine cycle, adopted in coal fired
power plants, have efficiencies that vary from 32 % to 42 %. This depends mainly on the
steam parameters. Higher steam perssure and temperatures in the range of 600 C and
230 bar have efficiencies around 42 %. We assume a value of 38 % for our case.
The overall conversion efficiency then is (38% x 88%) 33.44 %.
Heat Rate
Heat rate is the heat input required to produce one unit of electricity. (1 kw hr)
One Kw is 3600 kJ/hr. If the energy conversion is 100 % efficient then to produce one unit
of electricity we require 3600 kJ.
After considering the conversion efficiency in a power plant we require an heat input of
(3600 / 33.44% ) 10765 kJ/ kw hr.
Coal Quantity
Since coal has a heat value of 20,000 kJ/kg, for producing one kw.hr we require (10765 /
20000) 0.538 kg of coal. This translates to (0.538 x 100 x 1,000) 53800 kg/hr (53.8 T/hr) of
coal for an output of 100 MW.
Coal Cost
Basic cost of coal depends on the market conditions. Transportation costs, regional influences and
government taxes are also part of the cost. Coal traders web sites give base prices in the
international market.
We take a coal price of around 65 $ / Ton.
The cost of coal consumed by 100 MW power plant is (53.8 x 65) 3497 $ /hr
A 100 MW unit produces 100,000 units of electricity. So the cost of coal per unit of
electricity is (3497/100,000) 3.5 cents per unit.
Vapor Power Cycles Used in Steam Power Plants

Written by: Chief Engineer Mohit Sanguri Edited by: Michele McDonough
Published Apr 8, 2010
This article discusses the different vapor power cycles used in steam power plants worldwide, such
as the Carnot cycle, the Rankine cycle, the Regenerative cycle, and the Reheat cycle. How does
each compare?
Vapor Power Cycles

Vapor power cycles, as the name suggests, use vapor in one phase of the cycle for power
generation or for moving the prime mover in steam power plants or in steam powered ships. Water is
used as a working fluid in steam power plants because of its abundant supply, very low cost, and
suitability. In this article we discuss the various types of cycles that have been used in steam power
plants over the years and their modifications.
In countries where there are vast reserves of coal and oil, steam power plants are very popular
because they can be set up and started in a very short time as compared with other alternatives, like
nuclear power plants and hydro-electric plants.
The various vapor power cycles are the Rankine Cycle, the Regenerative Cycle, the Reheat Cycle,
and the Carnot Cycle among others. The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle theoretically, but
practically, the Rankine Cycle is best suited and more popular.
Steam Power Plants

Steam power plants are used worldwide for the generation of electricity and for propulsion. The heat
energy from an energy source like the combustion of coal, or from nuclear fission is utilized to heat
the water which changes phase and becomes steam. This steam is superheated to avoid any
possibility of water carriage and to increase the enthalpy. This steam is passed to a steam turbine
where it does work and is expanded. The steam is finally cooled in a steam condenser, a change of
phase occurs, and it enters the hot well as hot water.
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This process is called as a cycle because the working fluid, i.e. water, starts from the hot well and
then enters the boiler. After doing its work, it comes back to the hot well.
Power Plant
Popular Cycles
There are different types of vapor power cycles, most of them adapted from the Rankine cycle,
which is the theoretical cycle for a steam power plant. The Carnot cycle, being the most efficient
cycle and defining the Carnot limit, is not the theoretical cycle for the steam power plant because of
the following reasons:
1. Steam is not fully condensed to water in the condenser, but to a water and steam mixture.
2. It is very difficult to manufacture and maintain a pump that can handle both steam and
water and to convert it to water at the outlet.
3. Super heating is problematic in the Carnot cycle and in practical working, some degree of
super heating is required to protect the turbine.
The Rankine Cycle and its adaptations is very popular and is the theoretical cycle for the steam
power plants as the condensation of steam is complete and to water, which can be handled by the
pumping system and is easier to maintain.
Rankine Cycle and Carnot Cycle
Continue on to the next page for a discussion of other vapor power cycles used in steam power
plants.
Vapor Power Cycles Used in Steam Power Plants (Page 2 of

3)
Regenerative Feed Heating Cycles

The efficiency of the Rankine cycle is less than that of the Carnot cycle because irreversible mixing
of cold condensate with hot water reduces thermal efficiency. To cater to this, regenerative heating is
used in which the expanding steam from the turbine is used to heat the feed water. In the
regenerative feed heating cycle, the objective is to heat the feed water with the steam expanding in
the turbine so that the feed water is supplied to the boiler at a higher temperature than that of the
condenser.
This system is also advantageous as the cold water entry into the boiler caused thermal shocks and
damages. Thus regenerative feed heating cycle is a safer and more efficient cycle.
However the ideal regenerative feed heating cycle is not practically achievable because of the
following reasons:
1. Water cannot be passed through the turbine casing because of the risk of thermal shocks.
2. If feed water for heating is passed through the turbine casing then it would reduce the
super heating of the steam and may cause the steam to become unsaturated and carrying
water drops which is mechanically not safe for the turbine.
Thus, in the practical regenerative cycle, the steam is taken out from a few points and fed to the
heaters to heat the feed water.
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Regenerative Cycle
Reheat Cycle
When the steam is expanded in the turbine, it becomes unsaturated and if the water content
exceeds above 10%, it can cause extreme damage to the turbines. This presence of water can
cause corrosion and erosion problems and lead to mechanical damages. Needless to say, the
nozzle efficiency, blade efficiency, and the thermal efficiency also suffers.
Thus, to resolve all these problems, the steam is reheated and the thermal efficiency of the plant is
increased. In the reheat cycle, a part or whole of the steam is reheated using superheated steam
until it is near its initial temperature and then the steam is re-entered into the turbine and then
expanded to the condenser pressure to do work. Generally this cycle is a combination of the
reheating and the regeneration.
The other types of cycles which are in use are the Binary Vapor cycle, Nuclear Power cycle, etc.
Reheat Cycle Diagram
Continue on to the next page for ideas on how to increase the thermal efficiency of steam power
plants.
Vapor Power Cycles Used in Steam Power Plants (Page 3 of

3)
How to Increase the Thermal Efficiency of Steam Power Plants

As we know, the Carnot cycle limits the efficiency of a steam power plant this is called the Carnot
limit. By studying the Carnot cycle, we learn that the plant efficiency is increased by heat addition at
elevated temperatures and heat rejection at lowest temperatures. Thus by modifying a cycle in such
a way that the heat addition is done at the highest temperature that is possible and the working fluid
is so utilized that the temperature at which the heat is rejected to the cycle is the lowest, we can
increase the efficiency of the cycle. The various methods based on the above two principle to
increase the efficiency of steam power plants are as follows:
1. The super heating temperature of the steam should be increased to maximum.
2. By increasing the the working steam pressure, because temperature of the steam is
dependent on the the pressure of the steam.
3. Reduce the pressure at which the steam is exhausted from the system as again the
exhausting temperature is dependent on the pressure of the steam exhausted.
4. Using regenerative feed heating as the feed is heated again, the super heat will increase
and mechanical damage will be avoided.
5. Reheating of steam and by extraction of water from the steam.
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Qualities Required from an Efficient Working Fluid

There are several compounds that can be used as the working fluid in the vapor power cycles and
they are steam, Mercury vapor, sulfur dioxide, and some hydrocarbons. However they must have
some essential characteristic before they can be used as a working fluid in a power plant.
1. Low cost
2. Large quantity available
3. Freezing temperature lower the normal ambient temperature.
4. Non Toxic
5. Non Corrosive to the components
6. Should decrease in volume upon condensation so that the handling pump can be small
7. Chemically stable at maximum temperature
From all the above mentioned working fluids, water is widely used because it satisfies the maximum
requirements and, more importantly, it is available in abundance and is very cheap.
Conclusion
Among the various types of vapor power cycles is the Carnot cycle, which is theoretically the most
efficient cycle and sets the limit for the efficiency of any vapor cycle. This limit is known as the
Carnot limit. The Rankine cycle and its modifications are used widely and are theoretically the cycles
best suited to steam power plants. By studying these cycles, we know practically what all must be
done to increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness. It is hoped that this brief discussion will be
helpful to all engineers.
How Efficient is Energy Conversion in a Thermal Power Plant

?
Updated Sep 20, 2009 Related Guides: Power Plants | Steam
Electricity is a convenient form of energy. Thermal power plants convert the energy in coal to
Electricity. Have you ever wondered how much is lost in the process of generating electricity? This
article explains how efficiently (or inefficiently) the natural energy sources are converted.
Coal the primary energy source consists mainly of Carbon. During the combustion process the
Carbon in the coal combines with Oxygen in the air to produce Carbondioxide producing heat. The
high heating value, the energy available in the coal, is in the range of 10,500 kJ/kg to 27,000 kJ/kg.
For example, consider a coal with a high heating value of 20,000 kJ/kg. Theoretically this is
equivalent to 5.56 kwhr of electrical energy. Can we get all of this as electric power? No. In practice
the effective conversion is only around one third of the theoretically possible value.
Why is it so?
The first process of energy conversion is the combustion where the potential energy in coal is
converted to heat energy. The efficiency of this conversion is around 90 %. Why?
Due to practical limitations in heat transfer, all the heat produced by combustion is not
transferred to the water; some is lost to the atmosphere as hot gases.
The coal contains moisture. Also coal contains a small percent of Hydrogen, which also
gets converted to moisture during combustion. In the furnace, moisture vaporises taking
Latent heat from the combustion heat and exits the boiler along with the hot gases.
Improper combustion of coal, hot ash discharged from the boiler and radiation are some of
the other losses.
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The second stage of conversion is the thermodynamic stage. The heat from combustion is
transferred to the water to produce steam. The energy of the steam is converted to mechanical
rotation of the turbine. The steam is then condensed to water and pumped back into the boiler for re-
use. This stage works on the principle of the Rankine cycle. For plants operating with steam at
subcritical pressures (less than 221 bar) and steam temperatures of 570 C, the Rankine cycle
efficiency is around 43 %. For the state of the art plants running at greater than supercritical
pressure and steam temperatures near to 600 C, the efficiency is around 47 %. Why is it so low?
The steam is condensed for re-use. During this process the latent heat of condensation is
lost to the cooling water. This is the major loss and is almost 40 % of the energy input.
Losses in the turbine blades and exit losses at turbine end are some of the other losses.
The Rankine cycle efficiency is dictated by the maximum temperature of steam that can be
admitted into the turbine. Due to metallurgical constraints steam temperatures are at
present limited to slightly more than 600 C.
The third stage converts the mechanical rotation to Electricity in a generator. Copper, magnetic and
mechanical losses account for 5 % loss in the Generator. Another 3 % is lost in the step-up
transformer which makes the power ready for transmission to the consumer.
To operate the power plant it is required to run various auxiliary equipment like pulverisers, fans,
pumps and precipitators. The power to operate these auxiliaries has to come from the power plant
itself. For large power plants around 6 % of the generator output is used for internal consumption.
This brings the overall efficiency of the power plant to around 33.5 %. This means we get only 1.9
kwhr of electrical energy from one kg of coal instead of the 5.56 kwhr that is theoretically available in
the coal.
The efficiency or inefficiency of power plants is something that we have to live with for the present till
technology finds away out.
The Carnot Cycle and Carnot Theorem: Working and Relation

to Second Law of Thermodynamics Part 1
Written by: Haresh Khemani Edited by: Swagatam
Updated May 4, 2010
The Carnot cycle comprises two ideal reversible isothermal and two reversible adiabatic processes
in heat engine. Carnot theorem and second law of thermodynamics are based on Carnot cycle. The
Carnot cycle shows the maximum efficiency that can be achieved by the engine.
Introduction
Carnot cycle is an ideal reversible heat engine cycle, proposed by Sadi Carnot, a young French
scientist, in the year 1824. It comprises of two reversible isothermal and two reversible adiabatic
processes. Carnot cycle is a hypothetical cycle and it cannot be achieved in the practical situations.
However, it gives the guidelines as to what maximum efficiency can be obtained from the engine.
Importance of Carnot Cycle

1) Efficiency of the heat engine depends on the maximum and minimum temperature of the
cycle: In Carnot cycle the working medium (steam or air) receives the heat at high temperature and
rejects the heat at lower temperature. The efficiency of the Carnot cycle depends on the maximum
and minimum temperatures of the cycle. Before Carnot, there was general feeling that the efficiency
of heat engine was dependent on the type of fluid used in the cycle. However, in his book,
Reflexions sur la puissance motrice du feu (Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire), Carnot says
that the efficiency of the engine is not dependent on the type of fluid, rather it depends on the
maximum and minimum temperatures between which the heat engine cycle operates. This is also
the reason; he stated why the efficiency of the engine is higher with superheated steam.
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The high temperature reservoir from where the heat is absorbed at high temperature is called as
source and low temperature reservoir, usually atmosphere, where the heat is rejected is called as
sink. Thus the efficiency of Carnot cycle depends on the temperatures of the source and sink,
measured in Kelvin i.e. the absolute temperature.
2) Discovery of the second law of thermodynamics: Carnots cycle clearly shows that heat is
absorbed from the high temperature reservoir and rejected at low temperature reservoir. This finding
was very crucial and it laid the foundation stone for the second law of thermodynamics. The law says
that the natural flow of heat is from high temperature reservoir to low temperature reservoir, and to
move it from low temperature reservoir to high temperature reservoir external work has to be done.
The second law of thermodynamics has been found to be crucial in discovering the important
machines like engines, refrigerator and air-conditioning systems, etc.
Carnot Cycle and Carnot Theorem: Working and Relation to

Second Law of Thermodynamics Part 2
Written by: Haresh Khemani Edited by: Swagatam
Updated May 4, 2010
The Carnot cycle comprises two ideal reversible isothermal and two reversible adiabatic processes
in a heat engine. The Carnot theorem and second law of thermodynamics are based on the Carnot
cycle, which shows the maximum efficiency that can be achieved by the engine.
Assumptions of Carnot Cycle

The Carnot cycle comprises two reversible isothermal and two reversible adiabatic processes. Both
of these are ideal process which cannot be achieved in practical situations. A Carnot engine can be
considered to be similar to piston and cylinder type of engine. While proposing the processes,
Carnot made certain assumptions as given below:
1) There is no friction at all between the piston and cylinder and other moving parts of the engine,
thus there is no heat generated and lost due to friction.
2) There is also no exchange of heat between various parts of the engine.
3) The engine is completely insulated; hence there is no transfer of heat with the external
atmosphere.
Carnot Cycle (Source: Wikipedia)
Carnot Cycle
To understand the Carnot cycle, let us consider the piston and cylinder arrangement as shown in
figure 1 and the accompanying P-V diagram in which all the four processes of the Carnot cycle are
shown.
1) Reversible isothermal process 1-2: During this process the piston starts moving outside the
cylinder. The working fluid air or steam absorbs heat Q1 isothermally from the high temperatures
reservoir which is at temperature T1. Since the heat is absorbed by the fluid, its internal energy
increases. During this process the cylinder is assumed to be covered with diathermic cover.
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2) Reversible adiabatic process 2-3: During this process the piston moves further outwards from
position 2 to 3 reversibly and adiabatically. During this process the work is generated by the system
at the expense of the internal energy and the temperature of the system reduces from T1 to T2.
The system is assumed to be covered with adiabatic cover which prevents the exchange of heat with
the surroundings.
3) Reversible isothermal process 3-4: During this process the system of piston and cylinder loses
heat Q2 isothermally and reversibly to the surrounding or sink at temperature T2. The internal
energy of the system reduces further. The piston starts moving inside the cylinder.
4) Reversible adiabatic process 4-1: During this process external work is done on the system and
the fluid within the cylinder is compressed. Due to this the temperature of the fluid increases from T1
to T2. The process is reversible adiabatic hence the heat content of the system remains constant.
Efficiency of the Carnot Cycle

From the above cycle the efficiency of the Carnot cycle can be found out as:
Efficiency of the cycle = Work output/ Heat supplied
The final expression for the efficiency of Carnot cycle is (T1-T2)/T1 or 1-T1/T2
Where: T1 and T2 are the absolute temperatures (in degree Kelvin) of the high and low temperature
reservoirs respectively.
Carnot Theorem
Finally we come to Carnots theorem, which is in fact the summary of all the findings and discussions
stated above. It states that of all the heat engines operating between a given constant temperature
source and a given constant temperature sink, none has a higher efficiency than a reversible engine.
Boiler Tube Failure due to Opening a Drain Valve

Updated Jun 2, 2011 Related Guides: Steam
A wrong operational procedure leads to boiler tube failure and furnace damage. What went wrong?
Read this to find out.
This happened almost ten years ago. A simple but wrong operational procedure led to a catastrophic
boiler failure and a repair that cost a few million dollars.
We had just erected and commissioned a circulating fluidized bed boiler for an industrial plant in
Southeast Asia. The boiler was a state of the art CFBC and almost the largest boiler in the region at
that time. It was capable of producing nearly 400 tons per hour of steam for power generation and
utility purposes, firing coal and biomass with superheated steam at a pressure of 140 bar and
temperature of 540C.
A basic understanding of a boiler is required to understand what went wrong.
Furnace
The furnace of a modern boiler is made of welded tubes called membrane panels. The carbon steel
tubes of diameter 60.3 mm welded at a pitch of 75 mm forms the boiler furnace with a height of 40
meters, width of 12 meters, and depth of 8 meters. The heat transfer area was around 1700 square
meters. The heat in the furnace transfers to the water in these tubes to produce steam. The furnace
is at temperatures in the range of 800C to 1000 C. The water flowing through the tubes keeps the
tube metal temperatures well below the deformation temperatures. If there is no water flow in these
tubes, the tubes will overheat and fail. This is true for any vessel that boils water. Even in your
house, if you heat a pot or a pan without water it will twist out of shape.


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Circulation
How does water circulate in these tubes? Water flows into these tubes from the boiler drum located
at the top of the furnace through large pipes called "down comers." Steam starts forming in these
tubes as it absorbs the heat from the furnace. The steam water mixture is at a lower density than the
water in the down comers. Consider this like a U tube having the down comer filled with denser
fluid (water) and the water wall tubes with lighter fluid (a water and steam mix). Both legs connect to
the top drum. This density difference between the two legs causes circulation in these tubes.
Blowdown
The steam and water mixture from the water walls enter the drum, the steam separates, and the
water recirculates back. The chemicals in the water do not evaporate and remain in the water.
Continuous circulation of the water increases the concentration of the chemical content. Continuous
removal of a part of the water from the bottom of the drum by a process called "blowdown" controls
the concentration level.
Drains
The water wall membrane panels connect to headers at the top and bottom. The down comers
connect to the bottom headers distributing the water evenly to the tubes. The top headers connect to
the drum through riser tubes that carry the water steam mixture to the drum. The bottom headers
have drain pipes with valves. These manual operation valves are only for use during the initial
operation for flushing and cleaning the headers or for filling or removing the water from the boiler.
The Incident
The incident occurred during the final stages of commissioning. The unit was operating at near full
load at the maximum operating pressure. Because of higher than allowable concentration of
chemicals in the drum, the commissioning engineer decided to use the water wall drains for
blowdown for a short time. Since these were manual valves operating under high pressure
differential, the quick open-close operation was not quick enough.
How long the valve was in open condition is unknown. This opening of the drains at the bottom
headers had the effect of breaking the U tube effect and killing or reducing the flow of water
through the tubes. This resulted in higher than acceptable metal temperatures in the water wall
tubes. A few tubes failed, and the failure led to a unit outage. In the ensuing inspection, the extent of
the damage was visible. The entire water wall on the front and sides of the furnace for almost the
entire height was distorted into a wavy pattern.
Repair
Since the plant was in an electrically islanded facility, the power and steam was necessary to keep
the plant production levels. The boiler was back in operation after replacement of the burst tubes- at
a lower load and pressure with the waterwall distortion. Because this was a CFBC boiler, the sand
and ash circulating in the furnace required quick replacement of these wavy tubes before any
failures due to erosion took place. The boiler operated with this condition for almost six months until
the replacement tubes were available at site. It took thirty days to replace the walls and another
fifteen days to put the unit back into service.
Conclusion
One should know the design basics and do some critical thinking before attempting to do something
that is not normally done.
How Long Term Overheating Tube Failures Happen in Boilers

Updated Mar 8, 2011 Related Guides: Steam
Long term overheating tube failures are due to operating metal temperature of the boiler tubes going
above the allowable limit. These types of failure are seen in steam cooled tubes like superheaters
and reheaters and in water cooled tubes of waterwalls.
Boilers used for industrial steam generation and power generation have kilometers of tubes that
carry water and steam in circulation system and superheaters, respectively. These tubes are of
various sizes and thicknesses depending upon the pressure and the mid-wall metal temperature.
The tubes selected are boiler quality tubes manufactured under various standards like ASME, BS,
DIN, JIS, etc. While selecting the tube there is a requirement to select the correct material for
withstanding the metal temperature. This will depend upon the location where the heat transfer
surface is located. Normally the water cooled areas like economizer and waterwalls are made of
carbon steel of boiler quality. Superheaters and reheaters will have combination of low alloy tubes to
stainless steel tubes selected to withstand the metal temperature.
Mid-wall metal temperature
When heat is transferred from the burning fuel or hot gases by radiation or convection, the outside
tube temperature is very high; the heat is then transferred to the medium inside the tube which is
water or steam. There is a temperature gradient that exits from the outermost layer of the tube to the
inner most layer of the tube. The temperature at the middle of the tube thickness is called the midwall metal temperature. The waterwalls in the boiler furnace face the highest temperature, namely
the flame temperature, and since the water flowing though the tube is so designed to carry the heat
away and the cool the tube by proper circulation, the mid-wall temperature is maintained within
allowable limit of the material. The mid-wall metal temperature can be accurately determined,
however there are many rules of thumb used by the operating engineers. In the water wall area the
metal temperature will be saturation temperature of water at the drum operating pressure plus 30
degree centigrade. In the superheater area it is steam temperature inside the tube at the location
plus 50 degree centigrade for radiant heat transfer surface and 40 degree for convective heat
transfer area.
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Overheating of tubes in boiler

When the mid-wall metal temperature exceeds the allowable metal temperature of the tube material,
overheating sets in. This can happen due to many reasons like internal deposit, low flow though the
tube due to partial choking of the tube internal diameter, due to sudden load raise, due to sudden
fuel input, etc. When the metal temperature of the tube exceeds the allowable limit the material
strength reduces drastically, depending upon the material composition.
Long term overheating of the tube happens over a period of time, as the tubes are subjected to
temperatures which are not so high to cause instantaneous bulging of the tube to a failure point.
During this period of long term overheating the tube outer surface develops bulging, creeping
elongate fissures along the axis of the tube.There will be little or no wall thickness reduction in the
non-blistered area. These are the typical identifiable signs of long term overheating. These failures
are also called as high temperature creep failures. (Please see the photos below.) Areas in boilers
prone for long term overheating Waterwalls and superheaters are more prone to long term
overheating. Waterwalls normally, due to internal deposits and partial choking of the tube internally,
are subjected to long term overheating. Superheaters are subjected to long term overheating over
and above the said two reasons due to high desuperheating, higher radiant heat fluxes in the region,
and lower grade material at transition points. Reheaters are also prone for long term overheating,
but not so much like superheaters. How to avoid long term overheating failure in boilers
Operating the boiler within the specified range of parameters and regime can almost
eliminate this type of failure in boilers
Flushing the tubes to ensure any blockages are removed
Keeping the water quality at the recommended level
Making sure drum internally are set and maintained properly
Ensuring the right material transition point, higher grade material in the lower temperature
portion of the tube for some length can take care of operational variation.
Ensuring the right quality material selection during design stage.
Long term overheated tubes - Failed & internal deposit blocking tube flow area
Burning Coal in Power Plants Calorific Value and Moisture

Updated Oct 20, 2009
Coal is the primary fuel for producing Electricity. Some of the characteristics of coal have profound
influence on the day to day working and economics of the power plant. This article discus two of the
important characteristics Calorific Value and Moisture.
Calorific Value or Heating Value

This is the most important parameter that determines the economics of the power plant operation.
It indicates the amount of heat that is released when the coal is burned. The Calorific Value
varies on the geographical age, formation, ranking and location of the coal mines. It is
expressed as kJ/kg in the SI unit system. Power plant coals have a Calorific Value in the
range of 9500 kJ/kg to 27000 kJ/ kg.
The calorific value is expressed in two different ways on account the moisture in the coal. Coal
contains moisture. When coal burns the moisture in coal evaporates taking away some heat of
combustion which is not available for our use.
When we say Gross Calorific Value or Higher Heating Value it is the total heat released
when burning the coal.
When we say Nett Calorific Value or Lower Heating Value it is the heat energy available
after reducing the loss due to moisture.
The Heating Value determines how much fuel is required in the power plant. Higher the Calorific
Value lesser the amount of the coal required per unit of Electricity. Higher Calorific value also means
the cost of the coal is higher but is offset by the lower cost of logistics, storage and ash disposal.
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Moisture
The coal when mined contains moisture. The moisture is in two forms. First is the inherent moisture
which is entrapped within the structure of the coal. Second is the external moisture that is outside of
the coal structure. The amount of moisture depends again on the geographical age, location and
condition in the mines. A part of this moisture can easily evaporate in atmospheric conditions during
its transfer from the mines, storage at the power plant and finally feeding to the boiler in the power
plant. Depending on where and when you determine the moisture, values will be different for the
same of coal.
The amount of moisture determines how much of heating is to be done to dry the coal before it is
burned in the boiler.
Reporting Coal Properties

Moisture in coal is expressed as % by weight. So the change in the moisture content changes the
proportion of the other coal constituents and the Calorific Value.
As Received coal, is the coal received in the power plant premises. The payment to the
coal companies are normally made based on the As Received coal properties.
As Fired coal is the coal entering the boiler system. The performance of the boiler and
power plant is based on the As Fired coal properties.
Air Dried coal is what is used in the laboratory for analysis. This coal is dried in
atmosphere and has the lowest amount of moisture. Laboratory results are reported as Air
Dried coal properties.
The difference between the above three conditions is the proportion of the Moisture. The Calorific
Value and other coal constituents analysed in the laboratory on Air Dried basis is converted to As
received or As Fired basis proportional to the moisture content.
COAL ANALYSIS Effects and Corrections due to Moisture.

Published Jan 10, 2010
Moisture content in the coal affects the reported Heating Value of coal. Corrections have to be
applied to get the real values. Read on to learn about these corrections.
Fuel cost is the most important single component that determines the cost of electric power. Coal is
the primary fuel used for power generation. All utility companies are concerned about how much has
to be paid to the coal suppliers. Fuel cost is directly linked to the Heating Value or the energy content
of the coal. Determining the correct heating value becomes an important commercial issue and
directly affects the profitability of a power plant.
The heating value of coal depends on the Combustible Matter, mainly Carbon and Hydrogen, in the
coal and how it reacts during the combustion process. Apart from the Combustible Matter the other
main ingredients are Ash and Moisture.
In its journey from the mines to the power plant, Combustibles and the Ash in the Coal remain
unchanged. What changes is the moisture content. A Coal sampled at the mines will have a moisture
content higher than what enters the boiler.
The moisture in Coal consists of two parts.
One is the moisture held within the molecular structure of the coal called inherent
moisture. Removal takes place only at temperatures greater than 100 deg C.
The second part is the moisture that is on the surface of the coal. This is normally due to
the conditions and locations of the mines. This moisture can evaporate in exposed
atmospheric conditions. How much evaporates depends on
The time of exposure,
Atmospheric contact because of spreading,
Ambient temperature and humidity.
The Moisture in the Coal is both these put together and is the Total Moisture.
A coal sampled at the mines having a moisture of 20%, after storage for a few weeks, when entering
the boiler can have moisture of only 8%. If the Coal sampled at the mines has an HHV of 18800
kJ/kg the same coal at the boiler will have a higher HHV. This is because the percentage of
combustibles in one kg is more. Based on a simple proportion calculation, multiplying by a factor
[100-8]/ [100-20] the HHV will be 21620 kJ/kg.
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In real life, Coal analysis takes place in the laboratory. The coal is spread out and air-dried to remove
most of the surface moisture. The Coal Analysis and Calorific Value is determined and reported as
on Air Dried Basis (ADB).
This ADB analysis is corrected to the actual conditions in the field to the extent of the difference in
the moisture content.
Since there is a lag between the sampling and the lab analysis, some moisture can evaporate. To
avoid this error, coal is sampled in two parts.
The first part kept in a sealed container and is used to determine only the Total Moisture
(TMactual).
The second part is used to find the ADB analysis. Moisture is also determined in the ADB
analysis. (Madb)
The ADB analysis is corrected to the field conditions by using the Moisture content in the first
sample. The HHV, the proximate analysis and the Ultimate analysis are all corrected by using the
same factor.
The correction factor is based on simple proportion accounting for the moisture difference.
HHVactual = HHVadb x [100 TMactual] / [100- Madb].
This gives you the exact GCV at the point of sampling be it at the point of receiving (AS Received
Basis) or when it enters the boiler (AS Fired Basis).
The same is correction is applied for Proximate analysis values and Ultimate Analysis value also.
VMactual = VMadb x [100 TMactual] / [100- Madb]
Ashactual = Ashadb x [100 TMactual] / [100- Madb]
Often when comparing different coals it is a practice to take zero percentage Moisture as the
reference (Moisture Free basis). All analysis values and HHV is corrected to this zero moisture.
Capturing Power Plant CO2 Emissions for Long-Term Storage

Written by: Willie Scott Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher
Published Feb 17, 2010 Related Guides: Co2 Emissions
Power Plants produce and emit the most CO2 to the atmosphere, and carbon capture involves the
removal of this anthropogenically produced CO2. One method of CO2 capture is to use an
absorption tower. The CO2 is absorbed from the combustion gasses by monoethanolamine which is
injected into the tower.
Introduction to Carbon Capture From Coal Fired Powerstations

Our Fossil fueled power stations produce the biggest percentage of carbon dioxide gas, emitting it
straight to the atmosphere.
The CO2 is formed when we burn a fossil fuel,
Fuel + Air = Energy + CO2 + H2O
The amount of CO2 produced is proportional to the type of fossil fuel used,
Coal -1.00T of CO2/MWh
Oil - 0.75T of CO2/MWh
Gas - 0.50T of CO2/MWh
As we can see from the above figures, coal is the worst CO 2 producing culprit, but ironically we have
much more coal reserves- enough to last us 300 to 400 years- compared to current estimates that
show oil and gas supplies running out this century.
In order to use coal as a fuel in power stations without polluting the atmosphere, we need to remove
the CO2from the coal combustion gasses and store it in some safe location where it cannot escape
back into the atmosphere.
In this article we will examine the methods used in the capture of CO 2 from coal-fired power stations
combustion gasses as part of my series on fossil fuelled power stations.
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We shall begin by recapping how power is produced from coal, and then examine a current method
of capturing the CO2 from the gasses after they have passed through the normal fume treatment
unit.
Operation of a Coal Fired Power Stations

The coal is delivered to the stockyard from where it is supplied by conveyor to the coal pulverizers.
The pulverizers crush the coal to a fine dust, and from here it is blown into the boiler furnace along
with the optimum combustion air, is combusted, and the heat energy is used to raise steam in the
boiler.
The steam is superheated and supplied to a three stage steam turbine which drives the power
generator.
The combustion gasses passed through a gas treatment plant where the SOx, NOx, and particles
are removed, with the remaining gasses including CO2, passing out of the flue into the atmosphere.
Methods Used to Remove CO2 From Coal Fired Power Plants.

There are several methods for removal of CO2,
Removal before combustion, such as in coal gasification
Removal during combustion, using an enriched oxygen combustion process
Removal from the combustion gasses by absorption tower or by using a PTFE micro
membrane
In our example of a coal-fired power station we will use an absorber tower process to remove the
CO2 from the combustion gasses.
Removal of CO2 Using a Chemical Absorbent

The process of the removal of CO2 from the combustion gasses forms part of the fume treatment
unit of a conventional coal-fired power station. This process consists of first removing the NOx, SOx
and particles from the gas (see my article on coal-fired power stations) then passing the combustion
gasses through a packed absorber tower where the CO2 is removed. Different types of chemical
absorbents can be used in the tower, the most popular being monoethanolamine (MEA).
MEA Absorber Tower Operation

The absorber tower is a tall cylindrical pressure vessel, containing several sections of packing. The
packing is normally made from ceramic rings, which are inert, providing a good contact between the
MEA and the fume gasses. The fumes enter the tower moving up through the packed sections. The
MEA is introduced at the top of the tower being dispersed downwards over the packed sections by a
distributor plate. The MEA meets the gasses passing upwards which bubble through the packed
sections removing the CO2 from the gas which drops to the bottom suspended in the liquid MEA.
The resultant liquid mixture then gathers at the bottom of the tower from where it is withdrawn and
pumped into the desorber tower.
Desorber Tower
This is another pressure vessel of similar design to the absorber tower including the ceramic packed
sections. The liquid from the absorber tower is fed into the top of this tower, falling downwards
through the packed sections. Steam is introduced into the bottom of the desorber, bubbling up
through the liquid mixture cascading downward, and passing through the packed sections. The CO2
is stripped from MEA, and passes out the top of the desorber tower for dehydration and cooling and
then is sent to storage facilities or to further processing. The MEA gathers at the bottom and is
pumped into a reboiler where it is regenerated, and from here it is recycled into the absorber tower
along with make-up MEA.
Uses of Captured CO2
Dry ice manufacture
Carbonated beverages
Inert gas welding
Oilfield enhancement
Raw material used in chemical industry
Firefighting as a blanketing gas and fire extinguisher medium
Note: The various methods for storage of CO2 will be covered in the next article on fossil fuelled
power plants.
Sketches of CO2 Capture Operation
What is a Supercritical Power Plant?

Updated Jul 3, 2010 Related Guides: Power Plants | Steam
Modern thermal power plants operate at very high pressures greater than the Critical pressure of
steam. This article explains the concept of Supercritical power plants.
"Steam is no stronger now than it was a hundred years ago, but it is put to better use. - Ralph
Waldo Emerson
To increase the efficiency of steam power plants the basic method is to improve the thermal
efficiency by increasing the operating pressure. To understand what a Supercritical power plant is
you have to understand the basics of steam generation.
What happens when you heat water at normal atmospheric pressure?

There are three stages.
As you go on heating the water, the temperature of water increases till it reaches 100 deg
C. This is the Sensible Heat addition.
Further heating does not increase the temperature; instead small bubbles of steam start to
form. The temperature remains constant at 100 deg C till all the water becomes steam. The
water absorbs the heat without temperature change for conversion to steam. At
atmospheric pressure the Latent Heat of vapourisation is 2256 kJ/kg.
Further heating called superheating will increase the temperature of the steam. How high
one can go depends on the withstanding capacity of the vessel.
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What happens when the water is at a higher pressure, say, at 100 bar? Then the boiling takes place
at 311 deg C and the latent heat of vaporisation is 1318 kJ/kg.
If the water pressure is 200 bar then the boiling takes place at 366 deg C and the latent heat of
vaporisation is 584 kJ/kg.
As the pressure increases the boiling temperature increases and the latent heat of vaporisation
decreases.
A further increase in pressure and temperature leads us to a point at which the latent heat of
vaporisation is zero, or there is no boiling. Water directly becomes steam. This is the Critical
Pressure and the Critical Temperature. For steam this occurs at 374 deg C and 220.6 bar.
Conventional steam power plants operate at a steam pressures in the range of 170 bar. These are
Subcritical power plants. The new generation of power plants operate at pressures higher than the
critical pressure. These are Supercritical power plants. The operating pressures are in the range of
230 to 265 bar.
The efficiency of the Rankine cycle depends on the pressure at which it operates. Higher pressure
and temperature increase the efficiency of the thermal cycle and power plant. This is the reason for
operating at higher steam pressures.
Ultra Supercritical Power Plants

In the quest for higher efficiency the trend is to go for still higher operating pressures. The next
generation of power plants will operate with steam Pressures in the range of 300 bar. These are the
Ultra Super Critical Power plants. Ultra Supercritical Units operate at temperatures of 615 to 630 deg
C.
Steam Blowing of Power Station Pipelines - Why and How

Written by: Dr V T Sathyanathan Edited by: Rebecca Scudder
Updated Feb 18, 2011 Related Guides: Power Plants | Steam
Steam blowing allows power station boilers and pipelines to ensure that during normal operation no
adhering material in the superheaters, reheaters, and steam pipelines will become dislodged, reach
the turbine blades, and damage them. Puffing and continuous methods are mainly used for steam
blowing.
Why steaming blowing is done

The steam blowing operation cleans all the debris in the superheater, reheater and the steam pipe
line connecting the turbine. During the maximum continuous rating load of the turbine the drag force
in the pipe line can dislodge particles loosely adhering to the tubes internal surface, causing great
damage to the turbine blades. Guidelines given by various boiler designers and agencies like CEGB,
etc., to effectively carry out this operation focus on creating a drag force created on the inside
surface of tubes or pipes which is much higher than that occurring during the maximum continuous
rating load of the turbine. Ratio of the drag created during steam blowing to the drag occurring
during the maximum continuous rating load is called the disturbance factor.
How steam blowing is done

Steam blowing guidelines focus on creating a drag force on the surface of tubes or pipes much
higher than that which occurs during the maximum continuous rating load of the turbine. The ratio of
the drag created during steam blowing to the drag occurring during the maximum continuous rating
load is called the disturbance factor. Boiler designers and commissioning groups prefer to keep a
disturbance factor of about 1.6.
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The puffing method

The puffing method
As steam blowing is one of the initial stages of start-up operation, extra care must be taken to
maintain the boiler operating parameters as per the commissioning procedure.
The boiler is slowly brought up to the required pressure level
Do not exceed the furnace outlet temperature as the reheater is dry and has to be
protected
Boiler downward expansion should be noted as the pressure is raised to 40 kg/cm 2
The firing rate must be slowly increased, keeping in mind the drum temperature differential
Keep the drum level slightly above the normal level as when the blowing is started the
water level will raise and go beyond sight then as the blow proceeds it will drop below
lowest sight level if water level maintained is at or below normal.
In the first stage of blowing the first blow is done at much lower pressure to check the
temporary pipe supports and anchors.
The temporary valve provided is opened to blow through the superheater, the main steam
pipe and the temporary pipe.
The first few blows, generally three blows, are done without any target plate till the color of
steam is clear. Then the preliminary target or impact plates made of stainless steel material
40 to 50 mm wide, 25 mm thick and of length to suit the pipe diameter is placed to capture
the indentation of the particles going along with the steam.
The target plate must be placed just after the mainstream line in the temporary pipe but not
too far and the velocity at this place must be around 245 m/s.
While blowing the fire is killed and the pressure is dropped to around 15 kg/cm 2; this
ensures a good temperature differential for any adhering material to dislodge.
The boiler is started after closing the steam blowing valve and the process is continued.
The final target plate of turbine blade is placed once the preliminary target plate is in
acceptable form, and the blowing is continued till the indentations are acceptable to the
turbine manufacturer.
After the mainstream line is completed the other stages are done in the similar way to
achieve a clear target plate of acceptable quality.
Continuous Blowing Method

The procedure adopted in the continuous method of steam blowing is the same as the puffing
method but for the fact that the pressure is maintained constantly during the blow. This reduces the
reactionary forces on the temporary pipe and also the stresses on the boiler system are lower.
However, many boiler designers and commissioning groups adopt the puffing method.
Precautions
During steam blowing
The thick wall components like the drum, headers and piping are subjected to much higher
thermal stresses than the normal operation of the boiler, so it is prudent to keep the
number of blows to the minimum required for effective cleaning.
As a rule of thumb it is good to keep the number of blows less than 50 a day.
The temporary pipe is designed for a much lower pressure than the boiler system and
hence the operators should take extra care not to exceed the pressure beyond what is
required for blowing.
Care must be taken in the forced circulation boiler. If the drum level is very low and the
pump losses its suction then the boiler must be tripped and the blow must be terminated
It is not possible to avoid carryover of solids to the superheater during steam blowing,
hence boiler water should not be treated with non- volatile chemicals
The temporary supports provided should be watched and every day before starting the
boiler they must be inspected fully to avoid any catastrophe.
Classification of Steam Boilers

Published Jul 15, 2009 Related Guides: Steam | Coal Fired Boilers
Boiler classification can be based on many factors like usage, fuel fired, fuel firing system, type of
arrangement etc. Commonly known types are pulverized coal fired boilers, fluidized bed boilers,
super critical boilers, oil and gas fired boilers. All cater to industrial and power generation.
What is steam boiler?
A boiler can be defined as a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure.
This fluid is then circulated out of the boiler for use in various processes or power generation. In the
case of power generation steam is taken out of the steam boiler at very high pressure and
temperature.
In 200 B.C. a Greek named Hero designed a very simple machine which used the steam, generated
in a vessel heated from below, to rotate a wheel as the steam escaped through two small pipes kept
diametrically opposite, he called it as Aelopile.
Classification
From 200 B.C. to date, many developments have taken place that today allow us to classify steam
boilers in different ways. Hence steam generating boilers can be classified under various categories.
The main purpose of steam boilers is to generate steam, and so the way in which the steam is
generated and consumed forms the major category. The major two groups of boiler application are
Industrial steam generators and power generation boilers. Boilers are also classified as fire tube and
water tube boilers.


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Fire tube boilers have almost become extinct; however this can be classified as
Locomotive boilers, which ruled rail transportation before diesel and electric engine came.
Industrial boilers, mainly used for green projects where initial steam is required
Domestic use boilers
Water tube boilers took over when size and capacity increased. This can be classified depending on
type of circulation used to generate steam as
Natural circulation boiler
Forced circulation boilers
Super critical pressure boilers or zero circulation boilers
Depending on type of firing adopted in boilers they can be classified as
Stoker fired
Pulverized coal fired
Down shot fired
Fluidized bed boilers
Cyclone fired
Chemical recovery boilers
Incinerators
Of these the stokers which were predominantly used in early days of high pressure high capacity
boilers are being replaced by pulverized coal fired boilers and fluidized bed boilers. Stoker boilers
are still designed and used in few applications like sugar industries, etc. Fluidized boilers are also
going through fast development and can be now sub classified as
Bubbling fluidized bed boilers
Pressurized fluidized bed boilers
Circulating fluidized bed boilers.
The higher capacity boilers are mainly circulating fluidized bed boilers due inherent limitations in
bubbling bed boilers.
Boilers can be classified based on the type of fuel used as
Coal fired boilers
Oil fired boilers
Gas fired boilers
Multi-fuel fired
Industrial waste fired boilers
Biomass fired boilers
Various types of arrangement are used by designers in designing the boiler for meeting the end
requirement.Hence boilers are classified based on the arrangement as
Top supported boilers
Bottom supported
Package boilers
Field erected boilers
Drum type boilers

o
Single drum
Bi drum
Three drums, but these are presently out of use
Tower type or single pass
Close coupled
Two pass boilers
Boilers therefore can be classified based on firing type, fuel used, construction type, circulation type,
firing system design nature, and nature of steam application. Todays steam generating systems owe
their dependability and safety to more than 125 years of experience in the design, fabrication, and
operation of water tube boilers.
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Home > Engineering > Mechanical Engineering > Energy/ Power Plants
How are Supercritical Boilers different from Subcritical Boilers?

Updated Mar 5, 2010 Related Guides: Co2 Emissions | HP
Modern thermal power plants operate at very high pressures greater than the Critical pressure of
steam. This article explains how Super Critical power plants are different from the normal power
plants.
Supercritical power plants were in service from the late fifties. But the technology did not really take
off due to problems of reliability especially from the metallurgical aspect.
The single most important factor that determines the use of higher and higher pressure and
temperatures are the availability of materials to withstand these conditions. Increases in operating
pressure and temperatures have to go hand in hand with developments in metallurgy.
With more than 600 units in service the reliability issue seems to be resolved. Supercritical units are
the standard for future power plants in many countries including China.
What are the key differences between the subcritical units and the Supercritical units?
Efficiency
The main advantage and the reason for a higher pressure operation is the increase in the
thermodynamic efficiency of the Rankine cycle.
Large Subcritical thermal power plants with 170 bar and 540 / 540 C (SH / RH) operate at an
efficiency of 38 %. Supercritical units operating at 250 bar and 600/615 C can have efficiencies in
the range of 42 %.

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Ultra supercritical units at 300 bar and 615 / 630 C will still increase the efficiency up to 44 %.
Increase in efficiency directly lead to reductions in unit cost of power and CO2 emissions.
Operational Flexibility
Most of the Supercritical units use the once through technology. This is ideal for sliding pressure
operation which has much more flexibility in load changes and controlling the power grid.
However this also requires more sensitive and quick responding control systems.
Evaporation End Point

In subcritical units the drum acts as a fixed evaporation end point. The furnace water walls act as the
evaporator. Not so in the case of a supercritical unit. The evaporation end point can occur in various
levels of the furnace depending on the boiler load. The percentage of Superheat in supercritical units
is higher than subcritical units. Because of this the furnace tubes act more as superheaters than
waterwalls. This necessitates the use of higher grade of materials like alloy steels in the furnace.
Heat transfer Area

Higher steam temperatures in supercritical units results in a lesser differential temperature for heat
transfer. Because of this heat transfer areas required are higher than subcritical units.
Higher Superheat steam temperatures entering the HP turbine also mean higher reheater inlet
temperatures which again results in a higher heat transfer areas.
Water chemistry
In supercritical units the water entering the boiler has to be of extremely high levels of purity.
Supercritical boilers do not have a steam drum that separates the steam and the water. If the
entering water quality is not good, carry over of impurities can result in turbine blade deposits.
Materials
Supercritical power plants use special high grade materials for the boiler tubes. The turbine blades
are also of improved design and materials. In fact, the very increase in higher pressure and
temperature designs are dependendent on the development of newer and newer alloys and tube
materials.
The aim of the industry is to achieve power plant efficiencies in the range of 50 %.
Over-spraying in Superheaters and Reheaters of High Capacity

Boilers
Published Feb 9, 2010
Water injection in superheater and reheater of boiler is a common method adopted by boiler
designers. Within designed limit spraying in superheater will not be harmful if the water quality is
maintained and the nozzles of the desuperheater are not eroded.
In large capacity boilers, the superheater and reheater temperature at the boiler outlet is controlled
by many methods. Water spraying in both superheater and reheater is a very commonly adopted
method. In using a spray water system, there are many points to be addressed as otherwise serious
failures can result. The superheaters and reheater are sized in such a way that the full steam
temperatures are achieved from 60 % boiler load. This means the steam temperature will be much
higher than the rated steam temperature. Hence, to control this increase, water spraying is adopted.
These desuperheaters are designed in such a way that the water is split into fine particles and
allowed to mix with the steam, ensuring no water particles remain as it enters the superheater.
Superheater spray system
The superheater spray system consists of feed water tapped after the feed pump and sent through a
set of control and isolation valves to the desuperheater. This is arranged between the primary or low
temperature superheater and the high temperature radiant superheater section. Some designers
adopt two stage desuperheater systems. In this case the second stage of the desuperheater comes
between two stages of high temperature superheaters. The control on the main-steam outlet
temperature is done suitably by a feed forward and fine tune control philosophy. Over spraying in
superheaters results in long term overheating failures in sections preceding the desuperheater due
to the metal temperature going higher. This mainly occurs at the material transition point in the
superheater section. In superheater sections immediately after the desuperheater, the water
particles deposits salts when they evaporate fully and a probability for long term overheating,
corrosion, and thermal fatigue failures results.

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While over spraying in superheaters, the steam flow through the preceding sections will be reduced
to the extent of the span being given. This reduced flow increases the metal temperature at each
point along the length of the tube in the coils. If the slope of this increase is more than the limit to
which it can exceed the margin in allowable metal temperature at the transition point of the material,
then it can lead to long term over heating failure.
Depending upon the quality of feed water being maintained by the boiler operator and the quantity of
spray the deposition inside the section of superheater just after the desuperheater will have a high
probability for overheating failure, corrosion, and thermal fatigue.
Reheater spray system
Reheater spray is normally provided at the inlet of reheater in the cold reheat pipe. This is used in
boilers only if the first control system provided could not reduce the temperature to the required
level. Hence this is also called as emergency injection by many boiler designers. Using the
emergency spray in reheater reduces the heat rate as the injection water is tapped before the high
pressure heaters in the power generation cycle. Other effects of over spraying in reheater are the
same as superheater except that of metal temperature. In reheater the overall steam flow increases
with injection in all the sections and so the metal temperature gets controlled.
About the Author
Related Reading
Water Quality in High Pressure Boilers - The process for water treatment is decided dependent on
the source of water of the power plant and its quality. The levels of water quality to be maintained
depend upon the drum operating pressure.
Superheater Temperature Control in Boilers - Steam temperature control is carried out in all boilers
to get a constant temperature within a range. Methods like desuperheating by water injection, flue
gas flow diverting, burner tilting are few systems adopted. Main steam and reheat outlet temperature
are controlled by these methods in boiler.
How Long Term Overheating Tube Failures Happen in Boilers - Long term overheating tube failures
are due to operating metal temperature of the boiler tubes going above the allowable limit. These
types of failure are seen in steam cooled tubes like superheaters and reheaters and in water cooled
tubes of waterwalls.
Superheater Temperature Control in Boilers

Updated May 3, 2010 Related Guides: Steam
Steam temperature control is carried out in all boilers to get a constant temperature within a range.
Methods like desuperheating by water injection, flue gas flow diverting, burner tilting are few systems
adopted. Main steam and reheat outlet temperature are controlled by these methods in boiler.
All boilers used for both process and power generation plants have to maintain steam parameters
within a particular range. The pressure and temperature of steam at superheater and reheater
outlets are to be maintained to achieve an optimum plant efficiency. In large capacity boilers,
injection type desuperheating is more popular. Reheaters in power boilers can also be technically
classified as superheaters, however the type of control adopted is mainly varying the heat available
from the flue gas side by bypassing the flue gas to the superheater side and the burner tilt to vary
the radiant heat availability.
Superheating system
Superheaters in large capacity boilers are of both convective and radiant type. The convective type
superheaters are placed in the second pass of the boiler, and these are also called low temperature
super heaters. Generally about a 40 to 60 degree centigrade temperature pick up takes place on the
steam side in this superheater. The steam from this moves to a radiant type superheater called the
panel or platen superheater, and about a 70 to 100 degree centigrade pickup take place there. This
is followed by the final superheater, and the remaining required temperature is picked up here. One
has to understand that the designer can vary the pickup pattern depending upon his way of practice
or requirement. But in all the methods adopted, the final temperature must be within a narrow range
generally plus / minus five degrees centigrade. The superheaters are so surfaced that, for the design
fuel of the boiler, there will not be any desuperheating requirement.
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Desuperheating system
Three major systems are adopted the world over: the injection type, the flue gas flow diverting type,
and the burner tilt. The last two are adopted for reheater steam temperature control. The first one is
adopted for superheater temperature control. It also used in reheaters during emergencies when
there is a need to quench the temperature even after reaching the maximum of control on the normal
system adopted. The material selection for the superheater before the injection will be greatly
influenced by the quantity of injection.
Injection type desuperheating
In almost all large capacity boilers there are two injection points provided. The first desuperheater is
placed between the low temperature superheater and the platen/panel superheater. The second one
is placed between the platen/panel and the final superheater. The control is done mostly by the
desuperheater, and the second one is more for fine tuning, as the response time for the first is long.
In both the cases the feed water is tapped at an appropriate point and injected as fine spray through
nozzles in the steam pipe of the desuperheater. The mechanical design aspect includes liners so
that the temperature differential is not directly felt on the pressure part side of the desuperheater.
Flue gas diverting design
Here the flue gas path in the second pass of the boiler is divided in two. One houses the superheater
and part of economizer; the other houses the reheater and part of the economizer. The superheater
here is the low temperature (also called primary) superheater. The reheater here is called the
horizontal reheater and forms a considerable portion of the total reheater surface. There are
dampers provided in the bottom of each pass which can vary the flow in the section including a
bypass flow area in between the two flow paths. By varying the flue gas flow in the reheater section,
the pickup can be varied to control the final reheat steam temperature. Here also the superheater
temperature control is done by injection, however there will be an effect on the heat transferred in
the superheater section.
Burner tilt method
This method of reheater steam temperature control is applicable to only tilting tangential firing
system boilers. Here the burners arranged in the corner are tilted up or lowered down so that the
flame envelope in the furnace can move up or down causing a good variation in the amount of
radiation heat the reheater receives. Many designers provide an emergency injection system for
reheater temperature control. Feed water is injected in the cold reheat steam side to control the final
temperature.
There are other methods like gas recirculation, non-contact type desuperheating, etc., which are
adopted in cases of combination fuel firing, lower capacity units, etc.
About the Author
Related Reading
How Long Term Overheating Tube Failures Happen in Boilers - Long term overheating tube failures
are due to operating metal temperature of the boiler tubes going above the allowable limit. These
types of failure are seen in steam cooled tubes like superheaters and reheaters and in water cooled
tubes of waterwalls.
power generation.
Reheater Temperature Control in Boilers

Updated Jul 23, 2010
Reheater temperature variation will have an impact on the cycle efficiency of the plant. Boiler
designers adopt methods like divided second pass, burner tilting, water injection, gas recirculation,
etc. to control reheater steam outlet temperature.
Power plant cycles have the steam from the high pressure turbine reheated before it goes to the
medium pressure and then to the low pressure turbine. This increases the cycle efficiency of the
plant. Designers sometimes use double-reheat turbines to increase cycle efficiency. As the steam
from the high pressure turbine has done work, the pressure and temperature are low. Hence the
steam around 40 bar is heated to even above the main steam temperature. The temperature at the
outlet of reheater will have to be maintained within a narrow band. Designers adopt many methods
to achieve this depending upon the type of furnace and burner.
In designs where the reheater surface is kept in a more convective region, it is possible to control the
reheater temperature by simple mechanisms like increasing or reducing the flue gases flowing over
the sections. As the convective heat transfer coefficient depend more on the mass flow, and in turn
the velocity, this method has been adopted by designers successfully. This method is most often
used in wall fired units. Here the second pass of the boiler is divided in to two parallel paths up to the
economizer. The two parallel paths are so designed to have a normal one third and two third ratio of
flow area. The two third ratios of area being adopted for low temperature superheater surface and
the one third flow area for the reheater surface. Dampers at the bottom of this flue gas passage are
used to control the flow. A set of dampers is kept in the bigger area so that closing of these dampers
will divert flue gas to the smaller area side where the reheater surface is. This increases the pickup
in the reheater steam and thus the outlet temperature of the reheater is increased. Reducing the flow
by opening the damper in the other parallel path will reduce the flue gas flow through the reheater
section and thus reduce the reheater steam outlet temperature. Even though the logic of this design
is simple, the construction and maintenance aspect suffer considerably when coal and low grade
fuels are used.

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In models where the designer has opted to keep more of the radiant surface in the reheater heat
transfer area, the method of shifting the flame is used. Such is the case for tangential fired boilers.
Here the burners in the corners are tilted up or down in unison to increase the radiant heat going to
the reheater surface. This also affects the superheater heat absorption. The burner tilting
mechanism is so designed that all the burners in all corners tilt up or down based on the signal from
the reheater outlet steam temperature. It has been the experience when low grade coal is being
used for power generation keeping the burner tilt in one position for a long duration can lead to
seizure of the tilting mechanism. Hence designers generally advise putting the tilt on manual and
move from the maximum to minimum position once a day before bringing it back to the original
required position and putting it back on auto.
The third alternative is to use injection of water to de-superheat the reheater steam. This method
affects the cycle efficiency of power plant. Hence this method is generally used only as an
emergency system to control the reheater steam temperature during upset operation. However it is
one of the simple methods and results in a good economy over the life period mainly for sliding
pressure operation designs.
There are other methods like Gas Recirculation, Excess Air Control, Selective Burner Operation, etc.
In the case of the gas recirculation method, the flue gas is tapped from the second pass at a
convenient location and re-circulated into the furnace. This changes the convective heat transfer
coefficient in the boiler thus changing the absorption in the convective heat transfer surface. The
amount re-circulated is sized in such a way the temperature control is achieved. Excess air control to
vary steam temperature is currently not in practice as it brings down the boiler efficiency and
performance. However in fractional loads this method can be useful. Selective burner operation is
adopted by some designers and operating groups depending upon the furnace outlet temperature
requirement. This further controls the steam temperature in reheaters.
In all these methods it has to be remembered that whatever is done for reheater temperature control
will also affect the superheater temperature, the effect of which the designers take care while
designing the total process.
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Home > Engineering > Mechanical Engineering > Energy/ Power Plants
Carryover From Boiler Drum

Updated Jul 9, 2010
Carryover from the boiler drum leads to deposit in superheaters of boiler and turbine blades.
Carryover from drum is of two types- mechanical and vaporous carryover. Deposits in superheater
tubes results in overheating failure. In the turbine, this reduces the turbine efficiency.
In a high pressure large capacity boiler, the drum acts not only as a water reservoir, but also has a
major function of separating the steam water mixture coming into it from the raisers or waterwall
tubes. This is done by a set of separators and dryers housed inside the drum. Dry steam with the
quality required for superheating and admitting into the turbine is the output of a drum with good
internal design.
Depending upon boiler operating pressure, the boiler water and superheated steam quality are
decided. Water treatment plants are provided in boiler plant installations to ensure the quality of
boiler water. Parameters like alkalinity of water expressed in pH levels, total dissolved solids in ppm,
specific electrical conductivity of water in S/cm, residual phosphate in ppm, and silica in ppm level
are to be maintained with in specific limits. This is achieved by conditioning feed water to boiler
within preset quality levels.
The typical recommended boiler water limits for a boiler with operating pressure range from 160 to
180 kg/cm2(g) is given below.

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Total dissolved solids (Max) ppm 25
Specific electrical conductivity at 25 deg C in S/cm (Max) 50
Phosphate residual ppm 5 to 10
pH at 25 deg C 9.1 to 9.8
Silica (Max) ppm - To be controlled on the basis of silica in boiler water and drum pressure
relationship to maintain less than 0.02 ppm in steam leaving drum.
Carryover from the drum can be of two types: mechanical carryover and vaporous
carryover. Mechanical carryover take place in a boiler mainly due to drum internals; drum level,
foaming, and spray water. If the alignment of drum internals are not maintained as per requirement
then the separation efficiency comes down and carryover occurs. Faulty screen driers also
contribute to carryover. It is necessary to adhere to the dos and donts given by the designer during
operation and maintenance of the boiler to avoid carryover. Maintaining a very high drum level
reduces the separation efficiency and a high level of carryover results. High alkalinity, oil in water
and high TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in boiler water will result in foaming in drum which leads to
carryover. The chart attached gives a total picture of carryover.
Carryover can be minimized by adhering to good operating and maintenance practices.
Maintain drum water level within +/- 50 mm
Maintain silica below the recommended value for the operating pressure
Check and maintain the drum internals periodically and whenever carry over is noticed
Feed water conductivity at 25 deg C to be maintained between 0.2 and 0.3 S/cm
Boiler water solids to be maintained during operation within limits
Measure steam purity and maintain within the specified limits
Ensure feed water conductivity meter online to help monitoring the same
The end result of carryover will lead to deposition in superheater tubes which will result in long term
overheating of superheater tubes. Carryover will also lead to deposits in the low pressure stage
blades of turbine which reduces blade efficiency and increase heat rate of the machine.
Carryover From Boiler Drum
Bi-drum and Single Drum Boiler Compared

Published Feb 19, 2010
Boiler designers used four drums and three drums for designing water tube boilers during the initial
days. Later as the boiler technology advanced in capacity and pressure, they switched over to bidrum and single drum design.
High pressure boilers can be classified as single drum and bi-drum boilers. In early days, the
Sterling boilers had four drums, one at the bottom and three at the top interconnected by a bank of
tubes. Slowly the three drum and two drum designs evolved. The present day bi-drum boilers are
designed for high pressure, flow, and temperature.
Bi-drum boiler
Modern day bi-drum boilers are used both for power generation and process steam generators. For
power generation this type of boiler is used up to, say, 100 MW. These are essentially non-reheat
units which are getting wiped out due to high heat rate of the plant. In process steam generating
plants, this type of bi-drum boiler is preferred mainly because it can accommodate high load
fluctuation and respond to load changes much faster than the single drum boiler.
The two drums in these types of boiler are connected by a large number of convective heat transfer
tubes called the bank tubes or boiler bank tubes. These bank tubes in any bi-drum boiler will be
around one thousand in number. These bank tubes and the bottom drum contain water, the level of
which will be up to the normal working level of water in the upper drum. The large volume of water
availability in the bi-drum boiler makes it adoptable for large load changes. The bank tubes toward
the furnace side where flue gases enter the bank tubes act as raisers and contain steam water
mixture. The number of rows of bank tubes along the flue gas path acting as raiser tubes will vary
depending upon the load. The rest of the rows of bank tubes will act as down comer tubes between
upper and lower drum. Another important feature of the boiler bank is that the flue gas temperature
leaving the bank tubes remains almost constant at all boiler operating loads. During fast or slow load
changes, the number of raiser tube rows increases and the down comer tube rows reduce thus
ensuring more steam almost instantaneously in the steam drum as load surges upward.
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The bank tubes are inserted in to the upper and lower drum holes, expanded to withstand the
operating pressure. Some designers prefer to seal weld these with both upper and lower drum.
Bi-drum boiler can be of both bottom supported and top supported design.
Single drum boiler
Single drum boilers are used mainly for power generation. With supercritical pressure boilers coming
into use, even the single drum gets eliminated. This type of boiler has the advantage that they can
be designed for very high pressure, flow, and temperature. The down comers are welded to the
drum and are pipes which are so selected in size and numbers two ensure the circulation in the
furnace wall tubes. The single drum boilers are adopted for both non-reheat and reheat boilers. Only
single drum boiler design can be adopted for high pressure natural circulation and forced circulation
boilers. The single drum boilers are normally designed as top supported only.
About the Author
Related Reading
power generation.
Difference between Tower Types and Two Pass Boilers - Many types of designs are available for
boiler designers to choose. The tower type is one such option adopted for highly erosive high ash
coal. For a closer look into this please read through.
Once Through and Drum Type Boiler Designs Compared - As carbon emission is a major concern
today, more super critical pressure units are bound to be preferred due to the increase in plant cycle
efficiency. This will make once through type boilers take over from drum type boilers.
How Large Boiler Drums are Manufactured

Updated Dec 4, 2010 Related Guides: Power Plants | Steam
Boilers in power plants and process plants have large drums to house the steam-water mixture, to
hold large quantity of water required for steam generation, and ensure steam quality. Drums weigh
anywhere 100 to 250 tons with very high thickness. Manufacturing drums need special machines
and process.
Power and process boilers have a large cylindrical vessel called the Drum. Early boilers had as
many as four drums, but present day boilers have either one or two drums. A 210 MW boiler drum
weighs about 130 tons and a 500 MW boiler drum about 250 tons. The drums of bi-drum boilers can
be anywhere near 100 tons. The boiler drums have large stubs welded, many instrument tapings,
safety valve stubs, and internals to maintain the quality of steam and distribute the feed wate, and a
facility to dose the chemicals uniformly across the length of the drum. Boiler drums are generally
made of carbon steel of boiler quality plates of varying thickness depending on the design pressure
of the boiler.
Stages of manufacturing drum
Plate quality check by ultrasonic test
Review ultrasonic test report and steel supplier test report
Move plate to heating furnace and heat to 850 - 870 deg C. Use incremental pressing in a
6000 or 8000 ton hydraulicbeam press and work it to get the shell shape based on the
shell inside diameter
Cold press the plate to the final specified shape when plate is below 130 deg C, but not
below room temperature
The shell is moved to a special weld bevel machine for beveling the ends
Tack weld the counterpart (wrapper) shell which is slightly thinner
Weld longitudinal seam by submerged-arc process in thin layers in succession maintaining

a preheat of 150 deg C
Back gouge the inner side after the outer weld is completed to a sound metal
using electric arc process
The weld is finished using the automatic submerged-arc welding
The shell is welded 20 % on each side alternatively to control distortions of the shell
Grind the longitudinal weld flush both inside & outside and do magnetic particle test
Do radiography of the weld using a linear accelerator (4MeV or above)
If necessary repair using a low hydrogen electrode at 150 deg C preheat
Re-radiograph after repair till test results are satisfactory
All nozzles and nipples are drilled in the drum shell
Weld the nozzles and nipples by manual arc welding using low hydrogen electrode with
150 deg C pre heat
Join the first two shells with a girth seam and grind the weld and do magnetic particle test
and radiography of weld to ensure weld quality
Weld the hemispherical shell to the end of the shell always maintaining 150 deg C preheat
while welding and do magnetic particle test and radiography of weld
Each of the two assemblies are stress relieved at 605 deg C plus / minus 5 deg C
Put the internal structures in place and then the final girth weld is made maintaining
preheat of 150 deg C. This weld is locally stress relieved, followed by magnetic particle test
of all welds
Finally paint the outer surface and the drum is ready for shipping to the site.
A typical 500 MW drum is shown in the photo, courtesy Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Trichy, India.
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500 MW Boiler Drum Ready for Transport
Related Reading
Carryover from Boiler Drum - Carryover from the boiler drum leads to deposit in superheaters of
boiler and turbine blades. Carryover from drum is of two types- mechanical and vaporous carryover.
Deposits in superheater tubes results in overheating failure. In the turbine, this reduces the turbine
efficiency.
Handle Low Drum Level in Boiler Operation - Low drum level operation leads to availability loss of
the boiler. Water wall tubes fail due to short term overheating. Never bye-pass the very low drum
level trip in boiler is to be adopted. Drum level in boiler indicates the level of water in drum for
enabling the steam generation without hurdle.

General Layout of A Thermal Power Plant

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General Layout of A Thermal Power Plant

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General Layout of a Thermal Power Plant

Written by: Ricky Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher

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